Wasureru, To Forget
by xxblackroses
Summary: One mistake. A hundred questions. Two friends. Years of forgotten memories. A dangerous secret. A dozen enemies. When she remembers, all she wants is to forget. In the end, all she can do is remember. But she wouldn't have it any other way. Itachi x OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Wasureru – To Forget**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

…_The two made-up characters are all mine, though._

This is my first try at writing a fan fic, so I would really appreciate reviews and some constructive criticism – meaning, what do you like about it, what's wrong with it and how do I make it better? You don't have to, but I can't make it better if I don't know what's wrong with it.

The pairing is Itachi and a girl I made up. I'm not intending to write lots of…adult scenes, so if you like lots of Lemon, sorry to disappoint. I would say that it's going to be more 'fluff' but that's not quite what I'm going for, either…Somewhere nicely in between, maybe…

Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

The sky was a clear pale blue expanse, empty apart from the sun which hung in the sky like a golden ball of fire. It cast its light and warmth over the lush green grass below, which wavered gently in the soft breeze. The birds sitting high in the trees, sang their sweet tunes to the beautiful day and flew through the sky in small groups, chasing one another.

Two young girls, who were also enjoying the wonderful weather, ran happily down to the edge of the forest. They had no intention of entering at that point, but were headed towards their favorite Sakura tree, which stood a little apart from the rest. It was currently in full bloom, its soft pink blossoms swaying gently. It provided a cool web of shade below its branches, where the girls liked to sit, reveling in their freedom.

As they sat they talked and laughed, and occasionally began singing at the tops of their voices. The songs weren't important, nor were any of their conversations – which consisted mostly of talk about nice young men who had caught their eyes, but that was to be expected of teenage girls – the important thing was that they were enjoying themselves. Sometimes it can be a while before another chance for good memories comes around.

It was halfway through the afternoon, during a lull in conversation, when one of the girls got to her feet and moved towards the forest. She was a little short for her age but had plenty of energy and enthusiasm to more than make up for it. Her eyes were grey, more than blue, and they shone like silver when she smiled in the sunlight.

Giggling mischievously she looked back at her friend, her short, wavy hair swung over her shoulder as she did so. Usually her hair just looked blonde, but caught in the light it had natural streaks of browns and tints of red, here and there.

"Hana-chan," her friend called after her, getting smoothly to her feet, "Where're you going?"

"In there," Hana replied, pointing towards the depths of the forest before her, "We've always wanted to go for a wander in there. So let's go!"

"We always agreed we wouldn't unless we had a map, or something to guide us. What if we get lost out here? We could be stuck in there for weeks having to live off weird looking plants and fungi…"

"Amaya-chan, you shouldn't deny your adventurous spirit, y'know," Hana told her, pretending to be stern. Amaya tried to keep a straight face but she knew that Hana was telling the truth, "Come on! It'll be fun! You know it will! Let's go exploring!"

They'd been close friends since they were four and knew each other inside out, and when it came to things like this, Hana always won. Especially when she was wearing that cheeky you-can't-say-no-to-me smile of hers!

"Hana-chan, why is it I can never say no to that face?"

Hana shrugged her shoulders and accompanied the movement with another little giggle.

"Because I'm always right. Anyway, we won't get lost - this forest can't be _that_ big," Amaya opened her mouth to point out that it was stupid to think that way, but Hana carried on, "we won't be kidnapped or attacked, and there won't be any monsters, vampires, werewolves or giant man-eating spiders." There was a pause.

"I was _going_ to say, we haven't eaten since this morning, so maybe we should have lunch first," Amaya replied, having one final try at persuading her friend, knowing how this would turn out.

"Oh, come on! I promise we won't be _too_ long..." Hana put on her most pleading and innocent face.

Finally giving in, Amaya fished in her pockets and pulled out a silky black ribbon. She used it to tie back her long, dark hair which fell in bouncy curls to just past her shoulders.

Sighing, she thought that perhaps this was the reason for that bad feeling she'd had all day? Maybe something was going to happen while they were in the forest.

Telling herself that it was probably just her worrying too much, she shook it off and began to walk beside her friend, enjoying the fresh smell of the trees and plants around her.

"That's more like it, Amaya-chan!" Hana said happily; she was glad to see a familiar sparkle in her friend's blue-green eyes, "So…Your dream guy? What would he be like?" She asked, continuing their previous conversation.

"My dream guy? Well, he'd be tall and handsome with dark, dreamy eyes. Of course, he'd have to be kind, caring, sweet and strong, someone who's willing to protect me and stand up for me, you know?"

"Heh, I could have guessed you'd say that, Amaya-chan. For me he'd have to be similar except he'd have to be loud and energetic like me…Maybe with a bit of a naughty streak, though. You're guy sounds too boring!"

They laughed and Amaya gave her friend a light shove. Walking at a leisurely pace they trudged through the undergrowth, pointing at squirrels and birds nesting in the trees, or at brightly coloured plants drinking in the sunlight which slipped through the canopy above.

Absorbed in their surroundings, the sudden sound of Hana's stomach rumbling in the silence was a surprise.

"It's been two hours, already!" Amaya said, glancing at her watch, her eyebrows rising.

"Time flies when you're having fun!" Hana smiled back.

"I guess. Come on, we should go home," Amaya turned as she spoke. Hana nodded and followed her friend, thinking of what she would have to eat once she got back home and thus provided the next topic of conversation.

The thing is, they hadn't exactly been paying attention to where they'd been walking, there was no path in sight, and people don't usually walk in perfectly straight lines…So, another two and a half hours later, they were still wandering 'back the way they'd come'.

"I'm so tired and hungry!" Hana complained as her stomach rumbled loudly; again. "Does this forest ever end?"

"Told you we should have eaten beforehand and this forest must end, '_It can't be _that_ big'_," Amaya replied, mimicking her friend.

"Oh, alright, so we _are_ lost, and we _are_ hungry but at least we haven't been attacked or kidnapped or bumped into any vampires, werewolves or giant man eating spiders."

"Yet," Amaya said dryly.

"We'll be alright. I bet there's no one else in this whole forest! There's nothing but bugs and trees all around us!"

"That's supposed to be comforting? We're lost. If there's no one else here, there's no one to help us."

"I…I hadn't thought of it that way…" A look of worry flashed across Hana's face, before being replaced once again with her smile, "Look, I remember seeing that plant before! We must be going the right way."

"Yeah, we _must_ be going the right way…Just the same as we were going the right way the last four times you've pointed it out! We're going around in circles…This is hopeless."

Hana poked her friend in the arm, "We'll be okay, it's just because it's getting dark and we've been walking for hours that we can't find our way back. In the morning we can start walking again." She looked towards the sky, "Well, it looks like we'll be sleeping outside tonight…I've always wanted to go camping."

"Hana-chan, when people go camping they take a tent, food, water, clothes, a phone and all the little bits and pieces that they might need. They know where they are, and where they are going. I would hardly call us curling up under a tree in the middle of Kami-sama-knows-where, camping."

Giggling, Hana insisted that it was still camping, in a way, and flopped down at the foot of a wide tree. Amaya sat beside her friend and leaned back against the tree trunk, watching the slowly fading light.

"Amaya-channn…" Hana whispered.

"Mm?"

"Sing to me."

"Huh?"

_Of all the times and places…_ Amaya thought to herself.

"Sing to me, I can't sleep..."

"So, what? You want me to sing you a lullaby?"

"Not a lullaby! I'm not a baby. It's just…You have a lovely voice so I thought it might help me sleep."

Staring at her friend in the darkness for a moment, Amaya sighed, "Okay…Just one song, though. I'm not staying awake all night singing you to sleep."

Nodding, Hana shuffled to make her self more comfortable, slowly drifting off as Amaya's sweet, soft voice seemed to make the darkness recede a little.

Amaya had always had a lovely voice. She hit every note perfectly and always seemed to put her feelings and her heart into her songs. Sometimes if she couldn't find the right way to say something she would sing it instead. It was a habit she had developed sometime when she was young.

When the song ended Amaya looked over at her peacefully sleeping friend, who she could just about see through the fading light, and smiled. Hana looked so innocent when she was sleeping. Then again, didn't everyone? Amaya had always found it interesting how peoples sleeping faces, could be so different to the face that they wore during the day.

There seemed to be clouds filling the sky now, blocking out most of the stars. The moon was barely visible, yet some of its silvery light still managed to creep its way through the trees and onto her pale form. Amaya's breathing slowed as she fell asleep, enjoying the soft breeze which played across her skin. She still couldn't shake off that feeling of foreboding, though.

She hadn't been asleep for more than ten minutes when she woke. She suddenly sat bolt upright. Immediately she could feel eyes watching her. She turned her head slowly. Red eyes stared at her from the darkness. For a moment she was still and silent.

_R-Red eyes? They can't be human… Can they? Humans don't have blood red eyes... If…they're not human…then…_

"Ahh! It's a monster," she cried, jumping back on Hana, who came awake with a start.

"What? Where? Help, it's going to eat me!"

They tried to get to their feet, tripping over each other in their haste. They both froze, when a rough hand grabbed one of each of their arms.

"Waa, there are two of them!" Hana whimpered, now wriggling against the hand, in a vain attempt to get free. Amaya didn't bother. It was clearly not working so she just stood, watching the red-eyed 'monster' coming closer, her mind racing to think a way out of the situation.

"We won't be attacked or kidnapped, huh?" She muttered angrily.

"Gomen, Amaya-chan… Sometimes I really wish I'd listened to you."

"So do I," Amaya whispered.

She wasn't really sure why she whispered it, but she got the feeling that these were two monsters she did not want to make angry. Of course, now that she had got over the initial shock of those eyes, she knew that they weren't really monsters…but it seemed that Hana hadn't quite worked that much out yet.

"Stop wriggling," growled the person holding onto them, in a deep, rough voice. Hana froze.

"It spoke." She said, looking upwards at the person holding her, a rather stupid expression her face. "I never thought monsters would speak…at least, not so that we could understand…"

Amaya hung her head. "Baka! They're not monsters." A look of understanding spread slowly across Hana's face and her mouth formed an 'o'.

"But…? How…? Red eyes? They're not human!" She squeezed her eyes shut so that she couldn't see the red ones coming closer, but had stopped wriggling.

Her mind seemed to come across something and Amaya formulated a simple plan, if you could call it that. She remembered something vaguely about self defense. She was sure that she had never had self defense lessons, but she knew…something. Hopefully, if they were lucky, this would work, but she'd have to move quickly.

_Please go according to plan!_

Taking a deep breath, she quickly raised her knee, so that the downward force would be greater. With all her strength she slammed her foot down, in the general direction of where the feet of the person holding them should have been. She was glad to find that her foot collided with his.

_Yes! Hit!_

Letting go with a grunt of surprise and pain, the man took a step back, clutching his foot. Amaya had no time to sigh in relief at the fact that it had worked just the way she had wanted, as it wasn't over yet. Taking advantage of the situation she had created, she grabbed Hana by the wrist and ran as fast as her legs would move.

She ignored the plants and tree roots reaching out of the ground, trying to snag her legs and trip her up. Occasionally they almost bumped into a tree, it was so dark, but they kept running. Branches caught on their clothes and scratched their skin but they kept moving. They didn't dare stop.

"Amaya-chan… You're so brave…" Hana panted, as she ran along side her friend.

"Be quiet," Amaya replied, listening carefully. She couldn't hear anything besides their foot steps and their heavy breathing, along with the cracking of twigs beneath their feet. Perhaps they weren't being followed?

Even so they kept running, Amaya no longer holding onto her friend so that they could both run easier. Her legs were beginning to ache but she ignored that too, thinking about getting away and only that.

They started to get tired as the adrenaline subsided and their breathing became heavy. Feet dragged and arms stung with small cuts. They slowed down but stumbled onwards.

Amaya heard a squeak of surprise from Hana behind her and turned, expecting her friend to have fallen over, or something of the sort. She hadn't though. She had disappeared.

Turning in a full circle Amaya searched for her friend in the darkness. She would have called out, but had no desire to give her position away. Listening hard she could only hear her own breathing and blood pounding in her ears.

Everything was still. There was hardly any light here. The small slithers of moonlight seemed to create an eerie affect. Shadows seemed to creep closer and closer. She thought she saw something move. Her breath caught in her throat.

After reassuring herself that it had been her imagination she slowed her breathing and closed her eyes, trying not to think about how dark and creepy the forest around her was. Instead she focused on the sounds. An owl hooted somewhere off to her right. A twig snapped to her left, followed by bushes rustling and a growl. It was probably just a fox or something.

Barely audible footsteps came from behind her, making her hold her breath. The feeling of eyes on her back made her stiffen, her own eyes snapping open. She was about to turn when she felt warm breath on her neck. Her mind was racing again, wondering what was planned for her.

"Too slow," a deep voice whispered softly into her ear. It sent a shiver down her spine and she spun around.

Taking a step back she stared up at red eyes and made herself breath slowly, doing her best not to panic. She tried to hold the man's powerful gaze but found that she couldn't help but look away. In the darkness his face was covered in shadows but she had the feeling that he could see her clearly.

The silence was suffocating and the darkness seemed to cling to him and yet, his eyes pierced through the darkness, watching her. If he was going to do something why wouldn't he just get on with it? All this waiting was just making her want to be swallowed up by the ground beneath her.

As if she had said it aloud he moved forward and reached out towards her face. Amaya moved back but he brushed her cheek with his thumb, wiping away a small trickle of blood, from where she had been scratched by a branch earlier.

Startled by his unexpected and seemingly gentle act, she looked up at him. The corners of his mouth twitched with a smirk as she limply fell forwards into his arms, a look of surprise momentarily gracing her soft features.

_How…did he…? He barely…touched…me…?_

* * *

Phew...Over at last 

Just a few Japanese words in there…I'm sure you probably know what they mean, but just in case:

Kami-sama - God  
Gomen - Sorry  
Baka - Idiot

I hope it wasn't too long or boring. A slow start, I guess, but I needed to introduce the main characters and such…

If anyone out there has read all that and is still awake, well done, and thank you and I'd love it if you'd leave me a review…

If someone likes it I'll post another chapter in about a weeks time…Unless I get lots of reviews before then, in which case I might just be persuaded to post a little sooner -hint hint-

Well, thanks again…


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

Firstly i would like to say sorry for this chapter being later than planned. I was going to post it on Wednesday, but then i decided that i didn't like it and it was boring, so i've practically re-written the whole thing and i think it's a little better...I'm still not compleatly happy with it though...

Secondly, i would like to say thank you to anyone who read, and to FooFooCudlyPoops and Hibiki-chan for reviewing.

And thirdly...Here is Chapter 2, at last...

* * *

**Chapter 2**

It was hours later when Amaya finally regained consciousness. The first thing she noticed was that everything around her was bathed in a soft, orange light and that she was warm, but far from comfortable.

_Morning…_

Trying to look up at the sky, she then blinked as her mind processed the fact that she was being carried over someone's shoulder, and that looking towards the sky was currently very difficult. Her still sleepy mind also began to register that they were jumping through the high branches of trees. She could see the ground littered with leaves and covered in plants far below.

That struck her as a tad strange. Surely real people couldn't jump through trees? Then again, if they could it would explain how they followed them so silently the night before…But really, could they do that? She blinked again and shook her head a little to wake herself up, incase she was actually dreaming.

After a moment the sound of a familiar voice reached her ears and she smiled. From what she could hear, Hana was apparently in much the same situation as herself. At least Amaya now knew that her friend was safe; she had been so worried about her. Sadly, it meant that she wasn't dreaming and that this was all quite real.

_Damn…_

"Ooi! Put me down! My head hurts! What's going on? Why did you have to hit me so hard? How do you jump from tree to tree like that? What are you, overgrown squirrels? Squirrels that have bred with monsters and over time evolved into a completely new species? But…You don't seem to have a tail – ouch! That hurt!"

"Be quiet," said the same rough voice from the night before, angrily.

Amaya couldn't see her friend, but recognizing the man's voice she came to the conclusion that if Hana was being carried by _that_ man, then the man carrying her must be the one with the red eyes.

_Unless there are more of them?_

_Who are they anyway? What do they want with us? Where are they taking us? _

Amaya shook her head again. It was no use wondering, so she decided to see what she could tell about these people from the position that she was in, which wasn't a very good one, if you haven't already gathered.

Looking down she noticed the man carrying her was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. It…looked clean. Amaya stared at it as if it would just spill this mans life story to her but sadly, it refused. Darn thing.

_Hmph, at least he has a sense of hygiene,_ she thought dryly.

Then she did a double take of the pattern. _Red clouds?_ It certainly was unique. Amaya had a weird feeling. Almost like she remembered reading about it somewhere, yet she was sure she'd never seen, nor heard of anything to do with black cloaks and red clouds. Despite this, it brought a word to her mind.

_A-something…Aki…Aka…Akata…Akati…Akatsu…Akatsu…ki?_

"Akatsuki!?"

_What's that?_

It took her a moment to realize that she had said it aloud and her body went stiff. Would it make any difference if they thought she knew about them?

Hana fell silent. It was a different reaction to what Amaya would have expected as Hana usually questioned everything, but she didn't think on it at the time. She was too busy wondering if they would want to find out if she knew more. Maybe they were kidnapping them for information! That would make sense.

Soon Hana went back to her babbling and Amaya continued to be absorbed in her thoughts. Akatsuki was something bad. She knew it, though she didn't know how. All she knew was that her gut was telling her that if these people really were from Akatsuki, they were in a whole lot more trouble than she'd previously thought.

_What do they want with us, though? Why would we be of any interest to them? Could it just be that they think we know something? Surely they can't be planning on…Two men kidnap two young, pretty girls…No. If they were planning on that they could have done it already. It can't be that. It must be information, mustn't it?_

_...We don't have any information…_

Deciding to keep her mouth shut from now on, Amaya tried to relax and let go of the breath that she'd been holding and started trying to think of ways in which they might have chance of escaping. She didn't come up with any.

Just as it was starting to near noon, the men jumped down from the trees, to land surprisingly lightly on the ground. As she was put down Amaya whispered a silent 'arigatou_'_ – being carried over someone's shoulder like a rag doll for half a day, and a large potion of the night before, wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world – before looking up and getting her first proper look at the Akatsuki member who'd been carrying her.

At first all she could do was to stare at his eyes, despite the fact that she had seen them previously. They were cold and blood red, with three comma-shaped black dots in each eye, but his eyes lashes were so...feminine. Amaya almost blushed at thought and told herself that he was anything but.

The stare he returned was as blank and emotionless as it had been before, and once again gave her the feeling that he was looking right through her. His eyes fascinated her for some reason, but she still could not hold his gaze, so she looked away to take in the rest of him.

Jet black hair, which appeared to be tied back, fell around his pale face. She didn't quite come up to his shoulder and his cloak hid the rest of him, including the lower half of his face. It made him seem rather intimidating; though she was sure he probably would have been, even if he hadn't been wearing it.

He was wearing a head band too, with some kind of shape on it that resembled a leaf, but there was a scratch through it as if it had been crossed out. That was probably meant to mean something, but Amaya didn't know what.

She only looked away for him when she heard a gasp and turned to look at Hana, who was staring at the other man. She couldn't help but notice that he shot her a dark look. It seemed that she had succeeded in hurting his foot. A slight feeling of satisfaction came from knowing that.

"Y-you're…" Hana's mouth was hanging open. She looked over at Amaya, pointing up at the very tall man. She was at least a whole foot shorter than him and then some, but that didn't seem to be what Hana was focused on.

"He's…He's…Blue, Amaya-chan…?"

Amaya nodded slowly, just a little stunned her self, as she had never seen a blue man before. Turning back to him, Hana peered up at his face.

"A-and he looks like a…Like a shark…Don't you think?" There was a moment of pause. "That's freaky!" Hana said, pointing up at him, in a rather rude and childlike manner.

"What did you just say?" The man growled grabbing hold of the large sword on his back and looking ready to swing it.

Amaya watched them. She always knew that Hana wasn't the brightest star in the sky, but had always thought that no matter how stupid her friend was, she wasn't stupid enough to speak like that to a man with a giant sword strapped to his back. Apparently she was wrong.

_Hana-chan you baka!_

_You'll end up getting yourself killed, talking to him like that! They're from Akatsuki, whatever that means, and he probably wouldn't regret taking your head off! _

_Then again, they want us alive…So he'd probably just…_

"…make her be quiet."

Amaya nodded in agreement, before she realized that someone else had finished her thought. She turned and stared at the red eyed man. His face was completely blank – well, the part of it she could see, anyway - and she wasn't sure for a moment if it was him who had spoken, but who else could it have been?

His voice was deep and soft in a strangely cold and dangerous way. Going from her experience last night, she could tell that he was one of those people who spoke quieter when he got angry, instead of shouting like normal people.

After wondering whether he could read her thoughts or not, she realized that she had been speaking her thoughts aloud. She stared for a few more seconds before turning back to watch Hana, who was now on her knees.

"Pretty please, don't kill me, Shark-san!"

Amaya rolled her eyes at her friend. Even in that situation she wasn't taking it seriously. The man had had released his hold on his sword and was watching her with what might have been a slightly bored expression, though, so perhaps Hana would live for a little longer.

"Sit down and shut up," the man said finally, positioning himself against a tree. Hana's eyes narrowed and she got to her feet and grumpily did as she was told.

Choosing a tree, which looked just as uncomfortable as the rest of them, Amaya sat and closed her eyes. There were so many questions whizzing around her head she needed to make them still and to order them, somehow.

Taking a deep breath she smiled faintly as she listened to Hana, still mumbling on and on to her self. Amaya then had the feeling that she was being watched again. She knew if she opened her eyes that the red-eyed man would be watching her. It was as if something was being physically pressed against her.

_He has such a forceful stare. He's just staring, with no emotion. It's not even as if he's ogling me. Just staring…It's so creepy! I'm not even interesting…We're not even interest-._

She stopped. The stare felt stronger. Amaya made a mental note to learn to keep her mouth shut and stop speaking her thoughts aloud.

_That's a bad habit._

Taking another deep breath she opened her eyes and wasn't surprised to find him crouched beside her.

"That's a bad habit," he said. There was no emotion there. It was just a statement of fact.

Her eyebrows rose, _you don't say._

"And you're both very interesting."

"Why?" Amaya asked quietly, "What's so interesting about us?"

"Yeah, why have you kidnapped us? We're just plain boring!" Hana chimed in, "and who are the two of you, anyway?"

The blue man glanced at the other before receiving a slight nod and giving his name.

"Hoshigaki Kisame."

"Uchiha Itachi," replied the red eyed man.

A cold shiver ran down Amaya's spine and even Hana stopped talking. The word, 'murderers' suddenly came to mind and Amaya wondered why. Well, Kisame did have an abnormally large sword strapped to his back, which might have given it away a little, but it was more than that.

It seemed like that was the only question they were going to answer, but it was better than nothing. At least she knew what to call them now, rather than 'the red-eyed man' and 'the blue man'.

As Itachi moved away again, Amaya moved over to Hana who was beckoning for her to come.

"Ano, Amaya-chan…I…Umm…"

"What?"

"I…need to go…in the bushes…"

Amaya stared blankly before an understanding look settled on her face, "Ah, I see. Why are you telling me? Tell them."

"Uh…But…That's…Well, how am I supposed to say that?"

Laughing lightly, Amaya turned, speaking to whichever one of the men that were listening, "Hana-chan needs to go in the bushes for a moment, okay, so we're not trying to run or anything. Don't look. She then dragged her friend a short way and pushed her behind a tree, "Okay?"

Amaya had turned her back on her friend, and was surprised when Hana grabbed her arm and started to run.

"What are you doing? I said we weren't running!"

"Oh come _on!_ You really think I'm going to go in some bushes? Besides, we may as well take any chance we can get, ne?"

"Hana, they'll catch us again, and then what? I don't think they'll be very happy about it! _I'm_ not happy about it!"

"Oh, shut up already, and run!"

* * *

"They're running," Kisame said, glancing in the direction that they had gone. 

"They'll come back soon," Itachi replied and Kisame smiled cruelly, showing his sharp teeth.

"Probably much faster than they went, too."

The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched.

_Fools._

Kisame got to his feet, sword at the ready. Itachi didn't move.

* * *

Amaya glanced over her shoulder, to see if they were being followed. As a result she ran straight into Hana's back. 

"Why've you –," Turning, she found the answer to her question, "stopped…?" she finished slowly.

A huge snake loomed before them. Its eyes were bright yellow. Its tongue flicked as it hissed. Its head moved and it looked at them. It was almost as though it was wondering if they would make a good meal. Having decided that they looked rather tasty, it lunged at them.

* * *

Kisame then turned, facing in the opposite direction to the two girls. He glanced at Itachi, who had also sensed the chakra signatures quickly coming towards them and was now on his feet. An anticipating smile slowly spread over his face. They were going to fight. This would be fun.

* * *

And yes, that is my attempt at a cliffhanger...

Just the one Japanese word that time...Arigatou means Thank you...

Next chapter should be up on Wednesday, but i have exams all next week so i'll be busy with last minute revision and stuff, so it might be late again, but i'll do my best...That is, if anyone wants me to post more...?

Anyway, thanks again for reading, and please review...


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto..._

Yay! This chapter didn't take me as long as the others, but it's also quite a bit shorter...Sorry about that...

Thanks again to everyone who read and a big thank you to you peeps who reviewed! It's nice to know that people are enjoying my story...

Now, i wonder what will happen about that big snake, hmm?

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Amaya and Hana both dodged as the snake lunged towards them, fangs bared and hissing wickedly. It almost knocked them both off their feet, but they caught themselves on the trees and managed to keep their balance.

They began to run in different directions. Hana was moving away from the snake, but not back the way they had come, as her mind was still on escaping. Amaya, on the other hand, was headed back towards the two men. To her, it seemed the sensible choice, as they wanted them alive and they were fast and able to fight.

Gabbing Hana, while barely being missed by one of the snakes long fangs, she pulled her in the direction of Itachi and Kisame.

"Amaya-chan!" Hana protested, but was silenced by Amaya's glare. 

"Listen to me. Getting eaten by a giant snake, equals dead. Getting re-captured by two strange men, equals alive. Make your choice," she replied in a sharp tone, and with that she let go of her friend.

"Uh, good point," Hana said, as the snake snapped at them again, and followed Amaya willing back towards Itachi and Kisame.

* * *

Itachi watched calmly as a dozen ANBU materialised out of the trees, to land in a neat circle around both him and Kisame. He regarded them with cold sharingan eyes and waited for them to make the first move. 

Standing back to back with his partner, he could sense Kisame's eagerness to begin fighting. Itachi did not share his love for pointless fighting.

They were currently on the border of the Earth country, headed to their base in the Sand, so it made sense that the ANBU were from the hidden village of Iwagakure. Itachi and Kisame were both aware of special earth jutsu that they used and not at all bothered. To them, they were just more ANBU, and just as easy to beat as anyone else.

Itachi's keen ears picked up the sounds of fast moving feet and the snapping of branches, as though something big was moving through the forest. He already knew what it was and wondered how long the two girls would last if the ANBU prevented him or Kisame from killing it.

He wasn't the only one who heard it, and a couple of the ANBU disappeared at a nod from the one stood directly in front of him. If the ANBU got hold of the two girls it would be harder to get them back than to keep them. Plus, it would be a waste of time. Itachi hated wasting time, especially on people who were weak. There weren't many people who could fight him equally and so, he hated wasting time on almost everyone.

He turned slightly to Kisame, "Finish it quickly," he said and followed the two ANBU.

"With pleasure," Kisame replied, grinning, and held up his Samehada, "Who's first?"

* * *

Looking over her shoulder, Amaya ran into something, knocking her to the floor. It was too soft to be a tree, but hard all the same. Taking her mind from the snake for a moment she looked up to find it was, in fact, a person that she had bumped into. 

_Note to self: don't run a look over your shoulder at the same time. You always bump into something!!_

There were two of them, both men by the looks of it, and wearing strange masks which only had holes for their eyes. They were armed with swords which were strapped to their backs, the hilts sticking up over their shoulders, and dressed exactly the same.

The man she had run into watched her for a moment before slowly unsheathing his sword. Assuming, as any sane person would, that this stranger was intending to use his sword on the giant snake behind them, Amaya got to her feet and made to move out of the way.

The men absently threw some star shaped objects, which Amaya had never seen before, at the snake but, with a final hiss, it disappeared into a puff of smoke before it could be hit. Staring in surprise, Amaya's attention was pulled back to the man who was now advancing on her, his sword still drawn.

_Oh, so it was intended for me?_

This thought then raised the same question that she had been asking herself a lot the last few days:

_Why?_

Hana had tried to run again but had been easily caught. The other man had a hold on one of her arms, but she wasn't making it easy for him. She threw her fist at him, hitting him in the chest and making him grunt. His free hand can round to cut off her head with his sword, but she ducked so that it only clipped a few hairs from the top of her head.

_A good point to being short, at last! _She thought happily to herself.

Stamping down on his foot, Hana brought her other knee up to collide nicely with his stomach. His grip loosened momentarily, so she took the opportunity to pull her arm free. It was then just a matter of dodging all his attacks until she thought of a way to run away, knock him out or be rescued. The possibility of the first two happening was very low, so she opted for the third - even if it was by the shark-man.

Amaya wasn't doing quite so well as her friend. She'd never liked getting into fights. It was just as well, as she just didn't posses the right sort of fiery spirit for it. At this very moment though, she wished that she did.

Backing away she tried to think fast – something, thankfully, she was good at. If she tried to run she would most likely be caught, and killed, but if she stood and fought she would probably get killed anyway. If he was anything like Itachi and Kisame, as they seemed to jump around in the same sort of way, then he would easily be able to get behind her.

_So, if I back my self up against a tree, then I don't have to worry about getting stabbed in the back._

As she moved the do that, all the while evading the sharp edge of the man's sword, she tried to remember some more of those self defence classes she'd never been to. Unfortunately, she had no luck and was now pressed back against a tree.

Then man disappeared.

She looked left. He wasn't there. She looked right. He wasn't there either. Turning her gaze upwards she found and empty tree. Peering through the trees she could see him anyway.

_Where's he gone?_

Looking around again she searched for him. He could easily be behind a tree somewhere. Repeating her glances to both sides and above she still could not see the man. He had to be somewhere. Somewhere close, too. He wouldn't have just stopped for no reason.

_If he's not on the ground, or in the trees, then where is he? _

Suddenly a hand closed tightly around her ankle.

* * *

Ooo, another cliff hanger! Heh, thanks to Kakashi for the jutsu at the end there... 

So, nothing came of the snake and there was no point to it...Or was there? And why would random ANBU want to kill them? And what will happen to her?...

...Where did Itachi disappear to while all this was going on? Lol, really, i forgot about him! Nevermind, i'll make it work out eventually...

As always, i'd love to hear what you thought...

Until i manage to write the next chapter, sayonara!


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

Chapter 4 is here! This one is a bit longer again... Do you guys prefer longer or shorter? Or somewhere in between?

Thanks to all my reviewers, and just because i feel like it today, i'm going to reply to each of you..Yay:

Hibiki-chan : Thanks for reviewing again! I'll keep updating so long as i don't run out of ideas, which shouldn't be for a while...  
ninja gal : I spent a long time on thinking up this plot, so thank you... And i was planning to have a bit of Deidara somwhere...Well, actually, quite a bit of him, but you'll have to wait for a little while yet!  
AnimeSpaz : Talent for writing? Thank you... That made my day! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!  
windii : Ooo, i'm curious why Hana and Amaya are important too (and so are they)... I guess we'll just have to read on and find out!

And thank you to everyone who read but didn't review... I've quite alot of hits so far, which is nice to see...

With that done, here you go!

_

* * *

_**Chapter 4**

Amaya's eyes widened in shock as the hand tightened its grip.

_Underground? How can that be possible? I mean, jumping in trees is one thing, but suddenly being underground is…is…impossible…_

It was odd how something that happened in the space of a few second seemed to go slowly. The hand pulled down sharply. She gasped as her legs became buried in the dirt of the forest floor. Pain shot through what she now suspected was a broken ankle.

The man didn't stop pulling.

_If I die like this, they won't even have to dig me a grave! I don't want to die like this! I don't want to die at all!_

"No!" She cried as her arms flailed, grasping at thin air in her desperation to grab hold of something; anything.

"Amaya!" Hana screamed, turning from her own fight for a moment and almost losing her own head as a result. If she had been able she would have rushed to her friend's side and done whatever she could to help, but regretfully she couldn't.

Amaya turned her head to her friend. Her attention was caught by a black blur which swept towards her. Something pressed against her. Arms caught her around her waist before she became buried further. As a natural reaction she grabbed on tight. She was pulled upwards and felt the hand lose its grip as her legs came free of the ground.

She blinked and looked down at the man, surprised to suddenly find herself in a tree again. Her ankle was throbbing, but at least she wasn't dead or buried alive.

Letting out a sigh of relief she looked up, and was surprised to find that it was her kidnapper who had saved her. He wasn't paying attention to her but was watching the man below who was drawing weapons again. She studied his face, the way it betrayed nothing as he watched the man.

_How can he stay so calm? How does he move so fast?_

It didn't matter – she would ask later. As for now, she was sure that he had his reasons and doubted that he had saved her because he was a gentleman, but he _had_ saved her, and Amaya felt as though she ought to thank him, despite what his reasons may be.

As she opened her mouth he turned his scarlet eyes to her and she found that she couldn't say it. No, it wasn't that she couldn't, but that she didn't need to; he already knew what she was going to say, so she settled for a small nod. He returned it, his face unchanging.

Still no emotion showed as he whisked her back to the ground, avoiding yet another rain of sharp, painful looking projectiles. He then let go of her and looked down at her, waiting.

_Waiting for what?_

She then remembered that she had a fistful of his cloak. With a light blush of embarrassment she released it and watched as he moved away, leaving her to stand on one foot and leaning sideways against a tree. When he disappeared from in front of her and reappeared behind the man, Amaya wasn't even surprised.

_After all this is over I wonder if anything will ever surprise me again…_

Looking past Itachi and the man, who seemed to be trying to reason with the Uchiha, she could see Hana still desperately trying her best to avoid the other man's sword. She wondered how her friend had managed to survive so far, but was glad to see that she didn't seem to be hurt.

* * *

"Wait. Killing me won't make a difference. You know that more will come after them, and not just from the Stone. If you were to hand them over now, it would save yourself a lot of trouble in the future," the ANBU said, knowing that he could not fight Uchiha Itachi on his own and trying to buy time until he could make a plan of escape. 

Itachi listened to the ANBU tell him what he already knew and wondered if he could make any use of him.

"If you give them to us we will cancel all missions to assassinate Akatsuki members and will provide you with anything you need, whenever you need it," the man continued, trying to bargain his way out of the situation, "And, uh, we-."

"You could not give us anything that we cannot already get," Itachi stated, pressing his kunai a little harder against the man's throat.

"Wait! We can lend you out forces to capture the nine-tailed fox!" The man took a final chance, hoping that maybe the prospect of catching the kyuubi a little easier might be enough. It was then that it dawned on him that he was no longer bargaining for the girls, but for his own life.

Itachi considered it for a moment. The Stone ninja could act as a diversion, leaving them to deal with the kyuubi. He and Kisame could handle that task by themselves though, so the man, left with nothing else to offer, was convinced that he would lose his life.

And he did.

* * *

Lowering herself carefully to the ground, Amaya's head whipped up as Hana let out a cry. She'd tripped and landed heavily on her rear end. Her attacker raised his sword high and brought it down with all his strength, while Hana stared helplessly up at him. 

It was Amaya's turn to scream, "Hana!"

There was the metallic clang of metal on metal; the swirling of a black and red cloak; the surprised sound someone makes when they know that they're going to be dead shortly; the sounds they make as they actually die; the thump as their body hits the ground.

There was stunned silence for a moment, and as usual, Hana was the one to break it.

"Well, I'm flattered, but you didn't have to kill him!"

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't been a baka and tried to run off."

"If you'd been abducted by a big, ugly, freak of a shark-man wouldn't you try to run too?"

"You want to lose your head too?" Kisame threatened. He was in a good mood though. It had been a while since he'd got to kill so many people, and killing ANBU was always more fun.

"You won't kill me," Hana replied, casting a disgusted glance over the corpse and looking as though she might throw up as she skirted around it. "Amaya-chan, are you okay?"

Letting herself down the rest of the way to the ground, Amaya got her first look at her ankle. "I think it's broken," she said; it seemed to be turned at an odd angle and it looked red and swollen already.

Kisame knelt before her and lifted her leg with one hand, poking and prodding at her ankle with the other. She grit her teeth against the pain hoping that he knew what he was doing and wasn't simply making things worse.

"It doesn't seem to be broken, just dislocated," he said finally.

"That's good," Hana said, smiling.

"It needs to be popped back into place," Kisame continued as though talking about the weather, taking a firm hold of her foot.

"Wait, what? No!" Amaya tried to pull her foot from his hand and push him away at the same time, but hands on her shoulders pulled her back and held her still.

She let out a yelp, her hands clenching into fists and tears pricking her eyes as the pain doubled and shot up her leg. Then it was over, and the pain started to recede a little. Kisame pulled a bandage from somewhere inside his cloak and began to bind he ankle.

"Arigatou," Amaya said when he was done.

"My pleasure," he replied grinning so that he showed all his sharp, white teeth.

_Oh, he only did it to because it gave him an excuse to cause me pain! Horrible man!_

"Can you walk?" Asked a rarely heard voice, which Amaya recognised as Itachi's.

_Did he…kill the other man? They're killers…murderers... Then again, I would be dead if it wasn't for him... But us being in that situation was their fault to begin with…_

"I don't think so," she replied, trying to stand but finding that her ankle would not support her.

Much to her annoyance this meant that she was flung unceremoniously over Itachi's shoulder again. Hana, on the other hand, had to walk.

"And why do I have to walk?"

"Well, seeing as you like running so much, we thought you'd enjoy a walk just as much. Besides, you could do with the exercise."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kisame leant down and poked Hana in the stomach, "That's what I mean."

"It's just baby fat!" She protested.

"Yeah, I could almost believe that."

"Are you saying I'm like a baby?" Hana glared up a Kisame.

"Yeah, I am."

"Huh, I'd rather be a baby than a shark. At least I'm human!"

Amaya listened to the ongoing exchange, laughing softly every now and again.

_They seem to get on well…_

She noticed that the trees seemed to be getting closer together and that the light was starting to fade slowly, making shadows stretch. It was usually a time when everything would have been silent but Hana refused to let it be so. Occasionally Kisame would slip in a comment here and there, causing them to start throwing insults at each other again, but he always won.

It had been a long day and Amaya was just starting to drop off when they stopped.

"Are we there _yet?_" Hana asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes," replied Kisame.

"What? But we've been walking for hours and we're still not-. Wait. We're here? And where exactly _is _here?"

Sighing Kisame began walking again. Itachi dropped Amaya down, causing her to hiss in pain as her foot hit the floor, and leaving her to hobble behind them.

"Here Amaya-chan," Hana said, offering to help her friend walk. Amaya smiled in thanks, and they followed Itachi and Kisame into what looked like a perfectly normal hut.

It was quite small, but cosy. The floors were wooden, there was a soft looking couch and they could see a neat looking kitchen.

"I find it hard to believe that this is your 'hideout', as you call it," Hana said, looking around.

"What do you know, you're cleverer than you look," Kisame shot at her.

In reply Hana only narrowed her eyes and said, "So, this isn't it?"

Moving to the corner of the room, Kisame slid back a couple of the floorboards, revealing some stone steps, "Down there is our hideout."

"Oh, underground?" Hana said thoughtfully as she followed him down, "Clever."

_I've had enough of being underground for one day…_Amaya thought. It looked dark and the kind of place where spiders would love to spin their webs, and who knew what else would be down there – in the last few days she'd seen a lot of things that she would never have thought existed, so really, she wasn't sure what to expect.

"Go," Itachi said behind her, pushing her forwards with hand on her back.

She took a tentative step down into the darkness.

* * *

Ooo... I couldn't think of a cliffhanger for this one, but i tried! 

Itachi and Amaya have a silent understanding thing going on...Interesting...

And why was that ANBU so desperate to get his hands on them? I wonder...

Please leave me a review!


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto..._

I managed to get this chapter written a bit faster so i'm in a good mood.

Thanks to my reviewers (you guys make my day!) and to everyone who read.

**

* * *

Chapter 5  
**  
Amaya continued to take nervous steps down into the darkness. They seemed to go on forever and she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Steadying her self on the cold stone walls she let out a squeak of surprise as she bumped into something. The thing jumped and screamed. 

"AHH!! There's something down here! Lemme out, lemme out, lemme -," Hana blinked as Kisame lit a torch, sitting in its bracket on the wall, "Oh, it's just you, Amaya-chan."

"Yes, it's me," Amaya replied, feeling rather stupid for being scared of the dark and rubbing absently at her still aching foot.

In the flickering light she could see part of a long, narrow, stone corridor. It was a bit disappointing really – both Amaya and Hana had been expecting something just a little more elaborate.

As they continued walking down the corridor Kisame lit more torches so they could see where they were going. They passed doors and Amaya couldn't help but wonder what was behind them, the adventurous side of her itching to run and pull them open.

Kisame stopped finally and pulled one of the doors open.

"This is the kitchen," he stated simply.

They peered inside. It was quite large, with a long, wooden table in the middle which would probably seat about eight or ten people. Cupboards lined the walls and there was a fruit bowl on the side which looked to be empty. The floor was wooden – which Amaya thought was quite dangerous considering the whole place was lit with torches and candles – and that was it.

Kisame started to walk again and they followed obediently. After taking a left and a right, and a dozen other turns, they went through a door which led on to another corridor. This one had doors all the way down, on both sides. Each door on the left had one opposite it on the right, almost as though they were in pairs.

Stopping at the doors second from the end of the corridor Kisame pushed one open.

"This is my room. You, in," he pointed at Hana.

"Huh? Me? In your room?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We don't have anywhere else to keep you at the moment."

"No, I meant, why do _I_ get _your_ room?"

"Itachi-san prefers quiet. Now, in," He said, pushing her inside and closing the door in her face, but that did nothing to block out the sounds of her complaints.

Amaya watched. _I guess I'm the quiet one… So that means…that I'm going to be…_

The door behind her opened. Turning she glanced up at red eyes before stepping inside. The door clicked shut behind her and she was plunged into complete darkness.

"Hey!! Are you even listening to me? It's dark in here! I can't see a damn thing!" Hana continued to shout from behind her own door.

"She's right. I can't see a thing, either…"

Apparently they _had_ been listening, as the door opened again and Itachi entered. He moved around the room, lighting candles without sparing a glance for her before leaving again.

_Well, at least I can see now…_

The room was quite large. There was a double bed in the centre with black sheets. The floor was covered in a soft carpet, which was also black. The walls were painted black, too, and Amaya began to get the distinct impression that Itachi liked the colour.

There was a desk with some papers and books lying on it, and more books on a shelf above it. On the other side of the room there was a wardrobe and a chest of draws for his clothes.

Spotting a door on the far side of the room Amaya moved to it and pulled it open, revealing a bathroom. Picking up one of the candles carefully she found that, surprisingly, the tub was white, as were the floor and walls. The towels hanging on the towel rack beside the shower were black though.

She stared longingly at the bath for a moment before moving back into the bedroom.

"Amaya-chan!" Hana called.

Amaya opened the door a little and seeing that the two men were gone she pulled it open all the way.

"They're– Itai!" She jumped back as a sharp pain shot through her already injured foot.

"They put up some kind of invisible barrier thing to stop us getting out," Hana supplied.

"Nice of you to tell me before I got hurt," Amaya growled.

"You're welcome!"

Amaya sighed, "Is that why you were calling?"

"Partly because of that, partly because I don't like it in here…"

"Does it smell?"

"No, I thought it would, but it doesn't. It's actually quite nice, to be honest… It's all blue and there are waves and stuff painted on the walls, like the sea, but it's _his_ room."

"Huh, at least you got some colour. This room is all black."

Hana laughed and rubbed her stomach as it rumbled, "Oh that reminds me. They'll let us out for food every now and then. Each time the barrier will be down for exactly an hour and we have to be back by then or we're in trouble."

"If it's just 'every now and then', then how will we know?"

"I asked that. Sharky just laughed and walked away."

"Well, there must be some way to tell…"

"I have an idea!" Hana said brightly. Turning into the room she appeared at the door again with a book in her hand, "Maybe if we can't pass through, then neither can anything else," and she threw the book.

Thump. It landed in the middle of the corridor.

"Oh, it went through, so we must be able to as well!" She took a large step and got a shock up her leg. "Okay, I'm guessing it doesn't work like that."

Amaya nodded and then stopped.

The doorway shimmered blue for a moment. Staring, she tried to decide weather that had been her imagination or weather that was the barrier really disappearing. Slowly she stretched out her hand and waved it in the door way.

"It's gone!" She announced happily.

"Good," Hana replied, stepping through her own door, "ITAI!! And why isn't mine gone?!" She shouted angrily. In reply she heard a low laugh come from the other end of the corridor as her door way flashed blue for a moment.

"SHARKY!!"

Amaya followed her friend as she chased down the corridor after the blue man, retracing her steps to the kitchen, trying to memorize the numerous turns. When she got there Hana was already inside, drinking a glass of water.

While getting herself a glass of water too, she watched Hana.

"There's hardly any food here!" She cried throwing open cupboards and finding most of them empty.

"What happened to Hoshigaki-san?" Amaya asked, also starting to look through the cupboards.

"He came in here and disappeared in a puff of smoke," Hana muttered angrily, "Stupid fish-face."

_He disappeared…in a puff of smoke?_

They continued to look through the kitchen for food but found very little.

"Damn it! Why give us time to eat when there's nothing to eat anyway?!"

"Well, you can have the apple, I'll have the grapes, the mouldy banana can stay where it is and so can the squishy plums, ne?" Amaya handed the apple to her friend, "It's not much but it's better than nothing."

Taking the apple Hana nodded, "I love plums… I'll have to complain until they buy some fresh ones…"

"We should probably get back. We spent a long time looking for something to eat and we have no way of knowing how much time we have left."

Nodding again as she took a bite of her apple Hana left the kitchen behind her friend. They talked quietly as they made their way back. Amaya wasn't too sure of the way, but Hana had a good sense of direction and they found their way back quite easily.

Hana yawned as she stepped into Kisame's room, "Oyasumi," she murmured as she closed the door, glad to find that they were back in time.

"Oyasumi," Amaya smiled back.

As she turned, the doorway flashed the same pale blue colour as earlier and she froze.

_Did it just…? Will I be able to get back in?_

She reached her hand out towards the door. Her fingers brushed the wood and she thought she would be okay, but as she pushed the door open pain shot up her arm. Cursing colourfully she glared at the door.

_Damn it!_ _Now what do I do?_

She sat beside the door, leaning against the wall and waited. Hana had said that they would 'be in trouble' if they didn't get back in time. Amaya wasn't quite sure what that meant exactly, but she had expected someone to come running to tell her off or something; but no one came.

Popping the last grape into her mouth she got to her feet with a sigh. She'd been sitting there for ages, the ground was uncomfortable and she was worried that if she didn't move she would be frozen there forever. Shivering again she wondered what she should do.

_Don't these people ever sleep? If it's his room he would sleep there, so where is he? _

Finally she decided that she would check the kitchen. It was the only other room she knew and she had nothing better to do, so she wandered slowly down the corridors.

_It was a left and then here it was right, and then another right and then…Uh…Left? No… Right again… No, it wasn't a right either…_

She looked around in the dim light.

_Great, _She thought sarcastically, _I'm lost._ Now_ what do I do? I should have just stayed where I was!_

"Baka!" She mumbled angrily at herself as she continued down the corridors, now without the slightest clue as to where she was.

After a while she started to hum quietly to herself.

_This place must be quite big; these corridors go on forever. It's like a maze. Don't they say that if you keep your hand on the right wall then you'll find the way out? Maybe I should try it…_

She began to run her hand along the wall until she came to a flight of stairs. At first she walked past them, but then she stopped and took a few steps back. She stared at them for a moment before shrugging and climbing them slowly.

Going by how long it took her to get to the door at the top she guessed that she was probably back on ground level. She'd love to escape, but she wouldn't leave Hana behind.

She pushed the door gently and it swung open with a low creak. Gasping she couldn't believe her eyes. It was… beautiful.

A cold breeze whipped through her hair as she stepped out into a small, moonlit garden which had walls all around it. Everything was coated in silver and rippled gently; small statues stood here and there – they looked so lifelike; there was a trickling sound which she soon found came from a small steam; the water sparkled and reflected the moon; there was even a small bridge which she stood on, listening to the water and the rustling of the plants.

How could this be possible? Such a beautiful place, with a stream and everything, surrounded by large walls and dark corridors, seemed a little out of place. Where did the stream come from, anyway, and where did it go?

Despite the oddity of it all she began to sing quietly, caught in the beauty of the small garden around her.

_I'm standing on the bridge,  
I'm waiting in the dark,  
I thought that you'd be here, by now.  
There's nothing but the rain,  
No footsteps on the ground,  
I'm listening but there's, no sound._

_Isn't anyone trying to find me?  
Won't somebody come take me home?_

It was so peaceful, but she really had thought that someone would have come looking for her by now.  
_  
It's a damn cold night,  
Trying to figure out this life,  
Won't you take me by the hand,  
Take me somewhere new,  
I don't know who you are but I,  
I'm with you.  
I'm with you._

The wind whistled through the trees as all the questions about everything whirled around in her mind again.

_I'm looking for a place,  
I'm searching for a face,  
Is anybody here, I know.  
_'_Cause nothing's going right,  
And everything's a mess,  
And no one likes to be, alone._

Why hadn't they come? Maybe they were busy? Perhaps they hadn't realized that she wasn't back yet? It didn't matter, it was nice out here.

_Isn't anyone trying to find me?  
Won't somebody come take me home? _

It's a damn cold night,  
Trying to figure out this life,  
Won't you take me by the hand,  
Take me somewhere new,  
I don't know who you are but I,  
I'm with you.  
I'm with you.

She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

_Why is every thing so confusing?  
Maybe I'm just out of my mind?_

Sighing softly, she once again wondered why she was here at all.

_It's a damn cold night,  
Trying to figure out this life,  
Won't you take me by the hand,  
Take me somewhere new,  
I don't know who you are but I,  
I'm with you.  
I'm with you._

She sang quietly, her soft voice floating on the wind and getting louder until it echoed off the walls surrounding the garden.

_Take me by the hand,  
Take me somewhere new,  
I don't know who you are but I,  
I'm with you.  
I'm with you._

_Take me by the hand,  
Take me somewhere new,  
I don't know who you are but I,  
I'm with you.  
I'm with you._

_I'm with you._

Finishing quietly she breathed in the crisp night air and felt quite relaxed. Singing always had that effect on her. Once she'd let all her emotions out she always felt calm. Now, she just had to find her way back.

Before she could move, though, another problem arose. She froze and her calmness was shattered as a deep voice spoke behind her. It was a voice she didn't know.

"I don't know who you are either, un."

* * *

Guess who! 

Sorry that nothing much really happened in this chapter, but i'm planning on a bit more action in the next one...

The song is called 'I'm With You' by Avril Lavigne (you can hear it on her site if you want to)... I wasn't sure about it as first, but it fitted the mood i was going for... I considered cutting it down rather than posting the whole thing, but in the end i just decided to leave it as it was... What do you guys think? I'll probably be including some more songs later in the story, as singing is very important to Amaya-chan, so i'm wondering how i should do it...

(Oh, and if you don't like the song or Avil Lavigne then, you know, everyone's entitled to their own opinion so please don't complain about it.)

Also, 'un' or 'yeah'? I know most people use 'yeah' but i thought i might be different and go with 'un'...

Let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

Hey everyone!

First I have to say a massive thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter! I was so busy I couldn't get on for a few days and when I got back I had 20 reviews! It really made my week!

Sorry this took me so long... I've been buried under maths coursework and learning for my mock spanish oral (which is tomorrow, eek!) and whole load of other boring school stuff, but it snowed last night and the school was closed today, so we got the day off which gave me some time to write a bit more...

This was mostly written a couple of lines at a time when I had time to take a break, but I managed to get it to a point where I can keep you folks hanging on until I have the time to write some more (it's half term next week, so the next chapter shouldn't take me too long!)

For those of you who spotted my mistake with 'hn' and 'un' thank you - i've changed it now, so it's all good...We'll let the Uchiha's keep their 'hn'! Oh, and I changed a sentence in Chapter 3. It's nothing big, it just said that they were on the border of Earth, headed to the Sand...and then they were running through thick trees...I changed it so that they're just on the border of Earth... I don't know if anyone spotted it, but I changed it anyway!

And enough of my blabbing...

**

* * *

Chapter 6**

Amaya turned slowly to look at the man who had appeared behind her.

He was perhaps a little taller than Itachi, and his hair covered one eye. It was hard to tell in the moonlight but she guessed that he was probably blonde, though she couldn't tell what colour his eyes were. As he looked down at her a small smile played around his lips.

"So who are you, un?" He asked. It may have been possible to mistake him for a woman but his voice was even deeper than Itachi's and erased all doubt that he was most defiantly a man.

"Amaya," she answered.

She noticed that he was wearing the same cloak that Itachi and Kisame wore and wondered how many of them there were. It did seem to be quite a big place.

"Deidara," he replied, introducing himself, "Shouldn't you be in Itachi-san's room, un?"

"Ah, well, yes, but I…um…couldn't get back in…" she trailed off, wondering what was going to happen to her now, but to her surprise he gave a low laugh.

"I'll take you back," he said, leading her back through the door and down the stairs. She nodded and followed, silent but reluctant, glancing back at the moonlit garden once more before the door closed behind her, returning her to the yellow glow of the torches lit on the walls.

They walked for what Amaya guessed was about ten or fifteen minutes, though it was impossible to tell for sure, before he stopped, "Wait here, un," he said before he disappeared.

_I wish people would stop doing that!_

A moment later he returned with Hana and he began walking back the way that they had come.

"Hana-chan?" Amaya asked, confused.

"Amaya-chan? What's going on?" Hana's questioning gaze came to rest on Deidara.

"We can't stay here, un," He answered.

"Why?"

"Some enemies are on their way, un."

"_Enemies_? What do you mean _enemies_?"

"People who are against us, un."

"Great, we get kidnapped and now we're going to be attacked. Things just get better, don't they?" Amaya said sarcastically.

"We're moving so that we don't get attacked, un. Wait at the top, un," Deidara said, pointing up the stairs, as calm as though they were going for a leisurely walk.

Once at the top they left the small, cosy looking hut and were plodding through the trees again with no light, except for that provided by the moon.

"How long are we going to have to walk for?" Hana asked tiredly, fed up of trees.

"Not long, un."

Sure enough they soon came to a large clearing in the trees. They stopped. They looked up. There was complete silence.

It was broken, as usual, by Hana…

...As she fainted and hit the ground with a thump, unconscious.

Amaya just stared.

"Come on, un," Deidara said, throwing Hana over his shoulder and offering her a hand.

Turning her head to him, her eyes moved to his hand. Her eyes widened.

"It's alright, un," and he took one of her hands tightly in his own and leapt up. She wasn't surprised to find herself no longer on the ground. She'd gotten used to that trick.

"Are they…mouths?"

He nodded as he let go of her hand and put Hana down.

_Things just keep getting weirder._

She noticed that he seemed to be a bit gentler than Itachi and Kisame. It was the way he laid Hana down, making sure she didn't bump her head as he did so, and the way he had held her hand firmly but not painfully tightly.

_Maybe they're not all quite so mean…_

"It's a big…" murmured Hana as she began to regain consciousness, shuffling so she was lying on her belly.

"Huge…" replied Amaya as she peered down at the ground over the edge.

"Massive…" Hana looked around for something to hold onto.

"Gigantic…" It was a funny colour and Amaya wondered if it was actually real.

"Enormous…" A frustrated sigh came from Hana as she found nothing to hold onto, so she flattened herself as much as she could against its back and hoped she wouldn't fall.

"Bird…" Amaya finished.

"Made out of clay, un," added Deidara, as though it were perfectly normal.

"Well, that explains why there aren't any feathers to hold onto…" Hana's eyebrows furrowed as what he said registered completely, "It was _made?_ Out of _clay?_ How? Who made it?"

"I did, un," and he held up his hands, showing the mouths on each of his palms.

Hana's face was a mixture of disgust and the desperate need to laugh uncontrollably.

Suddenly, without warning, the giant clay bird began to spread it wings, flapping them and causing the trees to rustle and sway dangerously. Then it soared into the air, all desire to laugh evaporating rapidly and turning into the desperate need to scream uncontrollably instead.

"It can _fly?!_" Hana screamed.

"What kind of bird can't, un?" Deidara replied calmly as he scanned the ground below for any signs of enemy ninja.

"Oh I don't know, a giant clay bird, perhaps?!"

Amaya only just managed to keep her balance and decided that she'd probably be safer copying her friend and so sunk carefully into a sitting position and then onto her stomach. She noticed that Deidara didn't even wobble as the bird climbed higher into the dark sky and wondered how long he'd had to practice to get that good.

Once they were in the air the bird swooped, brushing the tops of the trees. He seemed to be searching for something. Amaya was about to ask what, when the sounds of metal clashing on metal mixed with shouting reached her ears.

Through the trees Amaya caught glimpses of people running, all seeming to be headed in the same direction – back towards the hideout that they had just left.

The bird turned in the sky, following them silently. Another person dressed in the same red and black cloak caught her eye. Her first thought was that the person was lying on the ground, but as they came into view for the second time she saw that it was moving. She was a little unsure if it was actually a person though; it looked more like some sort of weird creature.

It soon became apparent that they had been spotted – how could they not be? – And a group of people on the ground were sending more of those wonderful sharp objects into the sky, in the general direction of the giant bird.

_Like that's gonna do any good,_ thought Amaya dryly as most of them either missed or pinged off the hard clay surface. Not all off them fell dangerously back towards the ground though. Occasionally one would become lodged into the clay, splitting and cracking it a little, but Deidara was sending smaller birds into the sky and didn't seem bothered by it, so Amaya decided it was nothing much to worry about.

As she watched one of the small birds descend into the trees, which were momentarily turned into burning, splintered logs, it was one of those occasional weapons which sliced her cheek deeply, almost giving her a serious wound.

"What are these weird weapons? They're like knives but they're…weird!" Hana said at that moment.

"These are kunai," Deidara said, holding up one that same as the on which had just missed Amaya, "and these are shuriken, un," he explained, holding up the star shaped ones.

Amaya wasn't really paying attention as something attached to the kunai caught her eye. There was a piece of paper with something written on it but it was fluttering from the movement of the bird and she couldn't read it.

Shuffling backwards so that she was more in the middle of the bird's back she pointed to the piece of paper and asked, "What's that?"

"An exploding tag, un. Oh."

Boom.

It was a good thing that Amaya had moved, or she would have completely lost her head. Luckily none of them were caught in the blast but the force of it was still enough for both Amaya and Hana to slide from the bird's back. Deidara was able to keep his balance by channelling chakra to his feet, but neither of the girls could do such a thing.

"Damn it, un," he muttered as he watched Amaya and Hana plummet towards the ground.

Two chakra signatures rushing through the trees diverted his attention. They were still a fair distance away.

_You'll have to move faster than that, un…_

* * *

Oh dear. Poor Amaya almost lost her pretty head twice there...and now they're falling... 

I wonder who is rushing through the trees to their rescue...? And three guesses what/who the 'weird creature' is...

Gosh, it's all a bit see-through and easy to predict, isn't it?

But there's still the mystery of why they were kidnapped. And could this attack just be coincidence?

Perhaps we'll find out in the next chapter...

Until then, please leave me a review! I'll update as soon as I can manage!


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto..._

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews and sorry for the wait. I knew where I wanted to get to, just getting there was the problem! I've re-written this chapter about a dozen times now, lol!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Amaya was feeling relieved that she had managed to avoid losing her head for the second time that night, but as realisation that she was going to fall to her death instead set in, she began to curse Itachi, Kisame, Deidara and anyone else who she could think of to blame it on. Hana just screamed incoherently.

Amaya had so many emotions were whirling around inside of her. She was scared. Scared of dying; scared of the pain. Anger rose above it though. She was angry that they had been kidnapped; that this had even happened; that she would die without ever getting any answers; that she couldn't do anything; that she hadn't even made a decent attempt to escape; that she wasn't stronger.

There was something else, too. Underneath all her anger and fright there was something small and nagging at the back of her mind. There was a distant sense of familiarity with the situation. The way the wind whipped through her long hair, rippled through her clothes and rustled the trees rushing ever closer beneath her.

_You'll be fine._

The thought floated through her mind and she suddenly felt…calm. Then confusion settled in as to why she was suddenly so sure of their safety. Even though it was her own mind, she could find no reason why she had thought that.

Amaya squeezed her eyes shut. Hana took a deep breath mid-scream before continuing, determined to go out of this world the way she had come into it. They both braced themselves for what would come.

Thoughts of what her last words would be rushed thorough Amaya's mind. So many things she wanted to say; faces she wished she could see; things she wished she could remember. Then some words came to mind and were past her lips before she could work out where they were from, or who they applied to.

"Mou ichido tsuyoku dakishimete!" _Please hold me tight once more._

It annoyed her that she had no idea where the words had come from, or why they would be her last, and again confusion took hold, but she didn't have long to think about it as someone caught her, one arm around her back, the other under her knees.

_The answer to my last wish?_

Her eyes flew open in surprise as she stopped falling and her hair fell around her face.

Deep red eyes looked back at her blankly.

_Guess not…But, he saved me…again…?_

Then a half-smile crept slowly across her face.

_I'm alive._

Even though her almost dying twice was his fault, as he and Kisame had kidnapped them in the first place, he had saved her life both times, and she couldn't help but feel as if she owed him. She didn't like it.

She could hear Hana screaming, still incoherently, but it sounded as though she was actually trying to say something this time. Amaya couldn't work out what it was, though.

Itachi was stood on top of a tree as though nothing was out of the ordinary and Amaya once again wondered how it was he didn't fall. Cool and calm he leapt down from the tree to meet Kisame and Hana already on the ground. They were arguing again.

"You could at least thank me, you ungrateful little midget," growled Kisame.

"And you could have caught me in some way other than upside down by my ankle! My foot could've come right off!" Hana shouted back.

"Would you rather I'd let you fall?"

Hana glared and muttered something which sounded rather rude, while Kisame, who didn't seem to hear, smirked in triumph.

Itachi put Amaya down but didn't take his eyes from her. His cold gaze roamed her face as though he were searching for something.

Amaya met his eye uncertainly.

"Don't be late again," he said suddenly.

For a moment she was confused, but she assumed he was talking about getting back to her room. She nodded and then winced as the deep cut on her cheek stung. She could feel the blood running down her face and her cheek was swollen. She hadn't really noticed it when she had been falling, but now she was more than aware.

Something in an increasingly familiar black and red cloak appeared in the corner of her eye. Turning her head slightly she found herself staring again - which she seemed to do a lot lately - at the strange creature before her.

It was bigger than it had looked from the sky. It definitely wasn't human. Then again it had human looking arms and legs sticking out of it. Maybe it was just a strange sort of shield, or something. The face was…unpleasant and whatever it was had a tail like a scorpion. It made Amaya feel uneasy.

"I'd give you a lift, un" said Deidara's deep voice from above.

"But we have a mission," finished a new voice, belonging to the 'thing', which promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke as Deidara and his bird disappeared into the nights sky.

Amaya blinked. She had been expecting another introduction of some sort.

_So Hana wasn't just messing around when she said Hoshigaki-san disappeared in a puff of smoke before…_

She was still aware of Itachi's sharp, slightly narrowed eyes boring into her and did her best to ignore him.

"Amaya-chan," Hana said quietly. She sounded strangely serious, which was never a good sign.

"Yeah?" Amaya replied, glad for an excuse to look somewhere else other then up at Itachi. There was silence; even Kisame was staring at her with an odd expression. "What is it? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Your hair," Hana said, her tone still sombre. Amaya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her hands went to smooth her hair – she assumed that it had got messed up in the wind or something and didn't see what the fuss was all about.

Then she stopped. Her fingers ran through long, silky hair. Pulling her hair over her shoulder she blinked, stared and then, quietly, she said, "Its not…curly…? It's straight…dead straight… Why? How? What the…What the hell's going on?!"

She was shocked. Strange things going on around her was one thing, but actually having them happen to her was another. She was silent for a moment. It was like calm before the storm.

"Why would my hair change? All I did was fall from a giant clay bird," she gave a small, slightly hysterical sounding laugh, "why would that change anything? Why does everything just keep getting weirder!? And I'd still like to know why you've kidnapped us in the first place! We were just in the forest and you two randomly pop out of nowhere and decide to take us off with you. That's twice I've almost died now, because of you and you won't even tell us why!" She had started off still quite quietly but she was gradually getting louder.

"There are other questions too, like why is it that those other people from before, you know, when we tried to run, why is it that they wanted to kill us? What did we do wrong? And while I'm thinking about it, how can you all jump through trees, and appear out of no where, or disappear whenever you feel like? And why the hell do you look like a fish?" Amaya directed that question at Kisame.

At this point it would be fair to say that she was getting herself rather worked up, "And why are your eyes red?" That one was for Itachi, "And would you stop staring at me like that!" That was directed at Itachi too and came out much sharper and louder than she would have liked, making her wish instantly that she had kept her mouth shut.

Before she knew it the breath was driven from her as her back hit the tree and she looked up at him, wide-eyed, her anger disappearing again as she took control of herself and tried to get her breath back.

He had her pinned to the tree with one hand, the other beside her head. He didn't look angry or offended in the slightest, but he must have been or he wouldn't have bothered. He leaned down to her as he spoke; she could feel his breath on her cheek.

"Do not speak to me like that again."

_I'll have to start making a list of all the things I shouldn't do._

Surprisingly though, he gave her an answer. Only one, but it was better than nothing, "It's a kekkai genkai."

_What is?_

Well, it really wasn't that great of an answer, as it told her absolutely nothing at all (she had no idea what he meant by an 'advanced bloodline'), but he had answered and that was something.

Almost as though he felt that he had to give an answer too, Kisame said, "Why I look like a shark is nobodies business."

Hana sighed, "Was there actually any point to opening your mouth?"

Kisame was about to retort when Itachi spoke, "Let's go," and Amaya let out a squeak of surprise as she found herself over his shoulder and dashing through the trees again.

_Don't they ever sleep?!_

_

* * *

_No, I didn't seem like they did, but they did need to rest every now and again. Even though it was well into the morning there wasn't much sun. Heavy grey clouds filled the sky, blocking most of the sunlight and casting a dreary grey over everything.

Amaya wasn't sure if it was just the weather, but she had the same bad feeling that she'd had on the first day they'd been kidnapped.

_The first day… That was only two days ago… The longest two days of my life!_

Amaya's cheek was still stinging a little, but at least it had stopped bleeding now and the swelling had gone down. When they stopped beside a small river she took the chance to wash the blood off her face and neck, before cupping the clear liquid in her hands and relishing in the cool freshness of it as she brought it to her lips.

She then sat and stared at her reflection rippling on the surface. She looked different with straight hair, more mature with less childish innocence – and she was sure it was much longer than before, reaching down her back so that she could almost sit on it. To top it off she'd lost her ribbon somewhere, so it insisted on falling in front of her face at every chance it got, refusing to stay tucked behind her ear.

Sighing, she absentmindedly rubbed her stomach – partly because it was sore from being over Itachi's hard shoulder for so long, and partly because it chose that moment to remind her that a few grapes the day before were not enough – and took in her surroundings.

The trees were starting to thin out and there were increasingly less plants covering the ground. The river wasn't so wide that they couldn't jump over it, but it looked quite deep even so. It was flowing quite fast, tumbling and bubbling its way along, spurred on by the growing winds.

Turning her attention to a small way down the river Amaya watched Hana as she complained about the cold and was trying to get Kisame to give up his cloak. Itachi was sat in a tree with his eyes closed, one leg stretched out and the other bent so that he could rest his arms on it. He could have been asleep but Amaya doubted that.

She still hadn't seen his whole face as he was always wearing his cloak and she again wondered what he would look like without it.

_So much wondering… I don't know anything anymore!_

She was hoping for a day without almost dying, being attacked, bumping into giant snakes, riding on giant clay birds or meeting more strange people. Instead she wanted a decent meal, a comfortable nights' sleep in a bed and a long, hot bath.

As it turned out the day was somewhere in between. They continued travelling without meeting anyone else or being attacked, thankfully, but much to both Hana and Amaya's disappointment they did not reach their destination – wherever that was – and so spent the night sleeping on a hard forest floor without anything to satiate their hunger.

The temperature seemed to have dropped further and Amaya shivered as she looked up to the sky. No stars could be seen through the thick clouds and she wondered if there was any way she would make it through this night without getting soaked to the skin; if she wasn't frozen first.

Kisame was snoring lightly, laid out on his back. The bottom of his cloak had come undone and flapped open, spread out to one side. Hana snickered as she undid a few more of the poppers and pulled it over herself. She didn't like laying so close to the shark-man, but it was a little warmer and as long the cloak stayed between them, she didn't care.

Amaya had been surprised to find that the cloaks didn't have buttons, but she guessed that if they were getting into fights all the time that buttons would be difficult to get undone in a hurry.

They'd stopped quite a while ago, but she couldn't sleep, especially as she was growing increasingly annoyed. Itachi seemed to be constantly watching her, his red eyes shining in the dark, and it was getting harder to continue ignoring him.

Finally, before she screamed, she decided that she may as well talk to him. It had to be better than sitting there in silence trying to pretend that he didn't exist.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Amaya asked quietly. She didn't look at him but the other two were asleep so it was clear she was speaking to him.

At first she didn't think he was going to reply but after a moment he replied, "When I am able."

"Aren't you able to now?"

"No."

"Why?"

"You are not trusted."

_Fair enough._

Itachi would have slept and woken in an instant if she had tried to run away, but he found it impossible to get to sleep with her constant shivering and shuffling around. Not that he would let her know that she was annoying him, though, nor would he do anything about it, so he stayed awake.

"What…what's a 'kekkai genkai'?"

She waited for the answer. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him stand and turned her head to look at him. He wasn't paying attention to her.

_How rude!_

Kisame woke suddenly and was prying his cloak from Hana's sleepy fingers as he picked up his sword.

"What's going on?" She asked. They both seemed to be alert and listening for something.

_Oh no…_

The bad feeling suddenly seemed to double and she felt panic start to bubble in her chest, instinct taking hold.

"I think we should run that way," and she pointed into the forest, trying to resist the urge to start running straight away.

Itachi and Kisame both looked towards her before sharing a glance.

"And why would you say that way?" Asked Kisame.

Amaya shrugged, "I have a feeling."

How could they just stand there so calm? Something bad was going to happen; something very bad. She was not willing to simply stand there and wait for it to come to her.

She was about to grab Hana and go when she got the feeling that running in _any_ direction would be a bad move, and she heard Kisame mutter something to himself which did nothing to calm her.

"Sneaky bastard. We're surrounded."

* * *

Okay, so that probably wasn't worth the wait, but I promise more action in the next chapter - and I promise it won't take me over a week to post it!

Please leave a review...


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto  
_

Thank you all so much for reviewing, and so quickly, too! Here, as promised, is the next chapter, in just under a week...yay!

* * *

**Chapter 8  
**  
"Surrounded?" Hana asked, rubbing her still sleepy eyes as she got to her feet, "By whom?" 

"You wouldn't know even if I told you," Kisame replied, doing his cloak up.

He and Itachi then shared a whispered conversation. Hana pestered Kisame's back with questions while Amaya closed her eyes and listened, trying to calm the sickly bad feeling inside.

Ignoring the sounds of her friend and the faint mutterings of the two men she focused on the rustling of the branches and leaves as the wind blew through them. She could hear the faint pitter-patter as the first light raindrops began to fall from the grey sky. Listening past that, further out into the forest there was the sound of snapping twigs and branches as something…slithered over them. A low, cruel laugh reached her ears.

Amaya's eyes shot open in surprise. She couldn't hear it anymore.

_That was…weird… Was I imagining it? No, it sounded real…_

Kisame and Itachi glanced over at her as they continued their talk.

"Amaya-chan? Are you okay?" Hana asked, giving up on ever getting an answer from Kisame.

"What? Yes, I'm fine, why?" Amaya was feeling on edge. They were surrounded by those snakes! She was sure of it! What else slithered? How could they all be so calm? And that laugh…it sent a shiver down her spine.

"You look a bit-," Hana started, but was cut off by Kisame.

"Okay, listen carefully. We are going to put you up a tree-."

"You're going to put us up a tree?" Hana questioned.

Kisame ignored her, "You will be silent. You will not move. Itachi-san is going to make a genjutsu to -."

"Genjutsu?" Hana interrupted again. That would teach him to cut in when she was having a conversation.

"An illusion, to hide you," Kisame continued, "If you move outside of the genjustu they will see you. If you make a sound, they will hear you-."

"Don't you have a big bird that we can just fly out of here on, or something? Like that Deidara guy?"

"No. So, as I was saying-."

"Shame…That was kinda cool."

"Be quiet!" Kisame growled, "You will have to stay still and silent. Clear?"

"What about you two?" Hana asked.

"You don't need to worry about that."

Two minutes later Hana and Amaya were both perched rather precariously in the higher branches of a tree. The wind seemed to be stronger up there and they both wobbled dangerously as they clung on. At least the foliage above them offered some shelter from the rain.

_Huh, 'stay still' he says. Like that's possible. Uh, this is a stupid plan!_

Amaya was not comforted as Hana chose a particularly strong gust of wind to point out that if they were to fall, they would most certainly die – unless, of course, someone happened to catch them again.

"I said 'silent' meaning, not a sound. Not even a squeak," Kisame shouted from below them.

"Hai, hai. What about this illusion thing, then? I can still see you," Hana called back, waving a hand at him.

"You can see us. Anyone on this side can't see you."

"Oh…"

"Now, quiet."

Amaya hated waiting. She felt as though something was creeping up on her from behind just waiting for the right moment to strike. Peering through the trees she strained her eyes for any movement that didn't seem to be caused by the wind.

Though she hated waiting she would much rather have waited forever than face what appeared before her.

She had been right. There were snakes. A quick mental count told her there were at least ten of them, each coming from a different direction. They formed a barrier of green scales and bright yellow eyes around Itachi and Kisame, who still hadn't moved and didn't seem fazed in the slightest that they could easily be snapped up and eaten whole.

They were all still. The snakes watching the men; the men watching the snakes; the two girls watching them all from above; a dark pair of eyes watched from the shadows; a pair of yellow eyes watched from the opposite side.

Amaya was just wondering how long the snakes would sit still and how long Itachi and Kisame would just stand there, when they all moved at one, as though someone had pushed a button and spurred them all into action.

The snakes all lunged forwards, fangs bared. Kisame grinned and swung Samehada in a wide arc, glad to finally get into the action. Itachi disappeared from view, only to appear in the air a moment later, crimson eyes blazing.

Wide-eyed at the speed both Itachi and Kisame were moving, Amaya tried to follow the battle, but soon found that they were too fast for her eyes to follow, so she settled for catching glimpses of them here and there.

A snake fell, its heavy body crashing to the ground as its yellow eyes closed. Itachi landed beside it for a split second before disappearing again. Another crashed beside Kisame, who seemed to be enjoying himself and immediately launched himself at another snake.

As the wind blew again Amaya's vision was blocked for a moment by her hair – but that was the least of her worries.

There was a loud thump followed by a creak from below as the tree wobbled. Still holding onto the branch as best she could with one hand, Amaya pulled her hair out of her eyes and peered downwards.

The snake Itachi had been fighting had been throw backwards by his attack and hit the tree. It seemed that wasn't enough to stop it though, as it moved back towards him. He moved, appearing behind it. The snake lashed at him with its tail, but he was gone again and it missed – missed Itachi, that is; it hit the tree again instead.

Amaya's face paled as the tree shook and creaked again. She could have sworn it was no longer standing straight.

She let out a small sigh of relief as Itachi and the snake moved away. However, her relief was short lived. Kisame dealt the final blow to another snake, sending it skidding across the ground. It could have hit any number of trees, but as luck would have it, it came crashing into the same tree that Hana and Amaya were watching from.

It seemed that the poor tree couldn't take much more, and it was definitely leaning to one side now. There was a loud ripping sound as the tree cried out in protest, its roots torn from the ground as it began to fall.

The two girls turned their heads slowly and they stared at each other for a moment.

"Uh-oh," they said together.

Clinging on for dear life they felt the tree falling beneath them. Amaya let out a cry as she lost her hold. Rapidly falling through the branches of the tree she lost sight of Hana and gained a number of scratches and bruises.

The tree got caught on the one next to it, jolting it and causing Hana to let go too, leaving it standing at a very unnatural angle.

Amaya was aware for a moment that she now falling through air, rather than tree, before she bounced off something that was semi-soft and landed heavily on her back.

She lay still for a moment, eyes closed and breathing heavily. Her heart seemed to stop when there was a loud thump beside her. There was silence.

"ITAI!!"

She smiled, glad that her friend was okay. Opening her eyes she wiggled her arms and legs to check that nothing was broken and got to her feet glancing up at the snake while brushing the dirt off her self.

_Good job that snake broke my fall._

She looked over at Hana, who was also getting to her feet. Then she froze, slowly turning her gaze back.

The though repeated itself, _that snake broke my fall._

Hissing, its yellow eyes shone dangerously and it opened its mouth, flashing its dangerous fangs at them. With no desire to be snake food, Amaya took a few steps backwards.

"Hana-chan…" she started.

"Run!" Hana finished.

Amaya was sure she was running on pure adrenaline. She was hungry, tired and thirsty but she didn't stop. She also made sure not to look back, as she would probably just end up running into something or tripping over again.

It reminded her of the first night that they were kidnapped. Running through the forest with a bad feeling, their clothes catching and their legs aching, except this time she had an odd sense of…safety. Itachi and Kisame weren't just about to let them get killed, and whatever their motives, she didn't care. They wouldn't let them die, and right now that was good enough for her.

* * *

Itachi saw the tree fall and felt the two girls run off, closely followed by a snake. Killing the one he was fighting he looked over to Kisame, who nodded in understanding, before heading after them. 

He had only taken a few steps before a voice behind him made him stop.

"Leaving so soon?"

Itachi didn't reply, but silently turned to face the owner of the voice.

"Hisashiburi, Itachi-san, Kisame-san."

"Orochimaru. I was wondering when you'd show yourself," Kisame shouted from where he was standing on the head of a very angry looking snake, "How about crawling back into your hole and dying?"

"As loud and rude as ever, I see," Orochimaru called back.

"And where's your minion?" Kisame asked, ignoring the comment.

"You mean Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru watched Itachi carefully. The tiniest twitch of his hand was his only reaction to hearing his little brothers name.

"No, I meant the other one."

"Ah, Kabuto? He's…busy at the moment." Orochimaru's laugh rang through the trees, cut off by Itachi's kunai which buried itself in his head, reducing him to a mere pile of mud.

The real Orochimaru still hiding himself in the shadows smiled. That should be long enough.

Itachi headed in the direction that Amaya and Hana had gone, leaving Kisame to finish the snakes.

He glanced at the sky as a loud crack of thunder rolled through the cold night air.

* * *

Amaya screamed. A long, sharp fang buried itself deep into her shoulder. 

Sadly adrenaline hadn't been enough and the snake had easily caught up with them. Glancing over her shoulder, Amaya had seen the snake snap at them. They'd both managed to dodge it the first time. But it had thrown itself at them again, and she had been too slow.

"Amaya!" Hana pulled Amaya with her as the snake came at them again. She gasped, knowing that she couldn't move both of them out of the way in time. Instead she pushed Amaya away from her; away from the snake. The only sound she made was 'umph' as she was knocked unconscious by a lash from its tail.

Looking up from where she had fallen to the ground Amaya saw someone appear beside her friend. It was a man. He had silver hair, his dark eyes taking them both in as he pushed his glasses back up his nose.

Without a word he picked Hana up and jumped onto the snake, only sparing another glace for her before the snake started moving.

_Why doesn't it attack him? Who is he?_

"Wait!" She choked out, gritting her teeth against the burning pain as she forced her self to her feet.

"Wait! Hana-chan! Hana! HANA!" She stumbled after them but it was no use. She watched as the snake was swallowed up by the forest.

Her legs gave out beneath her and she fell to her knees, breathing heavily. A tear crept its way down her cheek.

"Hana…"

* * *

...Oh dear... 

Poor Amaya-chan, she always seems to end up getting hurt... Poor Hana-chan, too, what will happen to her? And now Orochimaru is after them too?

I think we're in need of a few answers... Perhaps we'll get some in next chapter...

Oh, 'Hisashiburi' means 'Long Time No See'...

Anyway, please leave me a review!


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto_

Thanks for the reviews (only three though? Where did everyone go?). I do try and update as much as I can but I have my exams coming up soon, so there's alot of revision and homework and all that, meaning i'm quite busy right now, so they will be a little slow in coming.

Now that i've got all my story line lied out and underway i'm going to start focusing on the whole 'romance' part of this story alot more, so yay!...It took me alot more chapters to get to this point that I had planned... I hope no one's bored...

Anyway, this is a nice long one to keep you going for a while...

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Amaya stared at the feet which had come into view in front of her. The sandals were blue, and the wearer's skin was blue, but their toenails were painted purple. She could see the bottom of a cloak: black, with red clouds.

She continued to stare blankly, none of these pieces of information registering with her mind.

_Why is this happening? Why is everyone after us?_

"Damn snake. He was just buying time to get out of range," said a rough voice, which was familiar, but she didn't bother trying to put a name or a face to it; right now even that seemed impossible.

"Where's the annoying little midget?" He received no answer and waved a hand in front of her face, "Hey, are you listening to me?"

Amaya continued to stare at the ground before her. She couldn't move but she wanted to run after Hana. She felt helpless. Another tear slid silently down her cheek. She didn't even make and attempt to wipe it away.

_I couldn't do anything… What if she's…? The snake could be anywhere now… How will I get her back? Will I see her again?_

_She saved me… Pushed me out of the way and got hit herself… If I'd been quicker…If I hadn't got injured then she wouldn't have had to…_

Now someone was crouching in front of her. It was someone else who was wearing the same red and black cloak, and sandals, but their skin was pale. They were saying something, but she was caught inside her own mind and it only sounded like a faint buzz in the background.

She was struggling to think straight. The pain in her shoulder was almost enough to make her faint and she could feel the hot sticky blood running down her arm, and seeping into her clothes. She felt weak and dizzy - it took a lot of effort just to keep her eyes open.

_Will I die? Will Hana?_

"Amaya."

Her head shot up to meet scarlet eyes and she was pulled from her thoughts by his deep voice. Neither of them had ever called her by her name before.

"Uchiha-san," she said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Where is Hana-san?" He asked. A sad look settled on her face before she looked away, another tear sneaking its way down her cheek to drip off her chin and onto the ground.

"A big snake…and a man…took Hana-chan…went that way," and she gestured weakly with her uninjured arm.

Itachi looked up at Kisame who nodded and dashed off in the direction indicated. Amaya watched him, wishing she could run after her friend too.

Turning back to the girl before him Itachi noted how pale she was, and how much blood was on the ground and already soaked into her clothes. He would have to move quickly.

"You need to remove your top, so I can bandage your wound," he said. Her gaze moved back to him and she gave a slight nod, tugging it over her head. She struggled with only one arm, and winced in pain with each small movement, but finally got it off.

She was in a stupor, doing it without thinking. She didn't even blush or care that she was sat half in her underwear in front of him. All she was thinking about was Hana. Besides, he didn't seem the type who was interested in women, anyway.

Itachi took off his cloak and held it out to her. At first she stared at it and then looked up at him. After a moment he sighed lightly and wrapped it around her, leaving her injured shoulder bare. She seemed to understand then, and pulled it around her a little tighter, glad for the protection it gave against the cold wind and the rain.

"Arigatou," she murmured.

Amaya watched him as he pulled some bandages from somewhere. Her eyes examined his face, seeing him without his cloak for the first time since meeting him. The thought that he was good looking floated though her mind. His eyes were his best feature, though.

"This will hurt," he said as he began to wrap the bandages around her. She gasped and winced, clenching her teeth together and squeezing her eyes shut. Then she surprised him as she gave a small, dry laugh.

He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"It wouldn't hurt…to be a little gentler…sometimes."

Truth be told, the comment startled him a bit. She was asking _him _to be gentle?

"I'm not the gentle type," he replied.

"Really?" Amaya's brain seemed to have started working again, and she wanted to talk to someone, anyone, to take her mind off Hana and the pain. He probably wasn't the best choice to have a conversation with, but it was better than nothing.

Itachi pulled the bandage tight as he tied it off, causing Amaya to cry out in pain again. Her head hung forwards so she ended up resting her forehead on his chest, breathing through gritted teeth until the pain receded a little.

Looking down at her, the few more tear which fell to the ground did not escape his notice.

"Sumanai." He froze, surprised for the second time in as many minutes. Why did he apologize? He couldn't remember the last time he had been sorry for anything, so why would he feel the need to be sorry to this weak little girl?

Amaya looked up at him, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

"It's okay." Her hand moved to touch the bandages lightly, "Arigatou." And then she gave him a small smile, "I guess there aren't many people who have ever heard you say sumanai, so arigatou for that too."

He was as unused to hearing 'arigatou', as much as he was to saying 'sumanai', and so he had no reply for her. Instead he simply nodded and said:

"There is nothing more I can do for you here," and with that he slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her up so he could catch her under the knees.

"Gentle, be gentle!" She hissed through her teeth. She grabbed onto him as pain shot through her shoulder from the movement. She was grateful that he was going to carry her in a better way than over his shoulder, but he could have given warning, or something.

She sighed. He wasn't gentle. That was just the way he was, and she doubted that she was going to be the one to change it. She supposed she'd get used to it after a while, along with his emotionless eyes.

Again she found her self wondering how it was possible for someone to hold all their emotions back so completely and how it was he came to be like that in the first place.

_Maybe he just doesn't feel? Would he answer if I asked?_

"Uchiha-san, do you…feel anything?" She waited for his answer.

"Emotions make people weak."

"I guess they can, sometimes…But do you simply not feel at all, or do you just hide everything away?" There was no way that someone could feel nothing, ever.

He didn't reply. Amaya wished she could get some idea of what he was thinking from his face, but he showed nothing.

"Doesn't anything ever make you feel like smiling, or laughing, or shouting, or something?"

"No."

Amaya watched his face for a moment longer before closing her eyes.

_Emotions make us human, alive. If he doesn't feel, what is he?_

She felt as though she could sleep for a week and could already feel herself drifting off in his warm arms. Before she did though, she said one more thing which made Itachi glance down at her, mildly surprised for the third time that day.

"Don't you ever want to?"

* * *

When Hana woke she was lying on a cold, hard floor. Her head was pounding and she ached all over but she pushed herself up and onto her feet, standing in a defensive position and took in the room around her, relaxing when she found that she was alone. 

It was dark, except for the light creeping in through the crack under the door. The cell was empty and only three paces wide at most, all the walls made of solid stone. The large, heavy door was wooden and seemed to be tightly locked.

Pressing her ear to it she could hear nothing at first but then the sound of soft footsteps coming towards her echoed down the stone corridor on the other side. Quickly she formed a set of hand seals and stepped back, waiting.

There was a click of the lock opening before the door was pushed open. A man stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the flickering light from behind.

"Come," was all he said.

"Why? Who are you? What do you want?" Hana asked, backing away instead of moving forwards.

"If you come then you'll find out."

Staring at him warily with narrowed eyes Hana made no move towards him.

"You can either walk on your own or I will drag you," the man said, starting to grow impatient.

"Fine," she replied, reluctantly following him out of the cell and down the long, shadowy corridor.

_What's with these people and dark places?_

In the poor light she could just about make out that the man's hair was silver and when he glanced over his shoulder at her she saw that behind his glasses his eyes were dark.

They came to a pair of large doors, which the man pushed open. The room beyond seemed to be the same – dark, lit by torches and candles. With another glare at him, Hana stepped past him into the room.

Shutting the door behind her he pushed her forwards to stand in the centre of the room. There was another man sat in a throne-like chair. His hair was long and dark, his skin had a purple tinge to it, but it was his eyes that caught her attention. Yellow slits, like a snakes, glinted evilly at her. There was also someone stood beside him, but they were hidden by the shadows and she couldn't make them out.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Hana asked again.

"You don't recognise me? Surely it hasn't been that long," the man replied. A smirk slid across his face, "I don't care for your little games, so how about you stop pretending now and save yourself the trouble later."

She looked at him blankly, feigning ignorance, "No, I don't recognise you. If I did, I wouldn't have asked."

"Very well, let me jog your memory. I am Orochimaru. Ring a bell, Moudoku Hana-san?"

She blinked in surprise before her eyes narrowed angrily.

"How did you-?"

"You were out for a while, you know, and sadly your jutsu doesn't work when you're unconscious" he answered, cutting her off, "but you're here to answer questions, not ask them. Firstly I'm curious how you disappear for a year and then suddenly reappear in the hands of none other than Akatsuki."

She was silent for a while before replying grudgingly.

"I made a mistake."

* * *

_Her heart was pounding in her chest; her legs were screaming for her to stop; her breath was short and ragged; her eyes were wide with fear._

_The buildings whipped past in a blur, the wind tearing at her clothes. Rain fell heavily, soaking her to the skin and mingling with the tears on her cheeks. The shouts of those chasing her rang in her ears._

_She glanced over her shoulder – they were catching up. Her feet slid on the mud and she fell, trying desperately to scramble back up. But she was too slow. Someone grabbed and handful of hair, pulling her back onto her feet. They began to drag her, crying and screaming._

_Familiar faces looked down on her as she passed by. People she had grown up around, who had helped her and been kind to her; the same people now ignored her pleas for help._

_When they stopped the man leant down to her and she gasped in shock._

"_Otousan? Nande?"_

"_This is your punishment, Amaya."_

"_My punishment? Nande? I don't understand!" She cried._

_Her father looked down at her, his eyes cold and full of hatred. Looking past him to the crowds of people she spotted another face._

"_Okaasan, onegai!" She shouted._

_Her mother looked away tearfully, unable to meet her child's eye. Amaya begged for her mother to save her, to take her safely into her arms and tell her everything was okay. But she didn't._

"_Amaya-chan, just close your eyes and listen. You won't feel a thing. Just listen to my voice. I'll sing your favourite song, ne?" Her mother said quietly, with a sad smile._

_Nodding fearfully she did as she was told. The sound of her mother's soft voice calmed her. A hand on her shoulder pushed her backwards. The wind whipped through her long hair and rippled through her clothes as she began to fall. _

_Her attention was drawn from her mothers soothing song at the sound of someone screaming her name._

"_Amaya-chan!" _

_Amaya smiled, eyes still closed, _Hana-chan, arigatou, for everything.

_Her eyes flew open as there was another cry, her smile disappearing._

"_Amaya!"_

She woke with a start. She was breathing heavily as through she really had been running, sweat beading on her forehead, her heart pounding in her chest. She'd never had that dream before but had the feeling that it meant something – especially since it had included her parents. She hardly remembered them.

As her breathing slowed the pain in her shoulder made itself known to her once again. She could feel the bandages tightly wrapped around her, but more securely than Itachi had first done it. She assumed it had been redone.

She didn't remember much after passing out in his arms, just bits and pieces here and there as she slipped in and out of consciousness: running through trees; Itachi kicking doors open; being lied down; voices; a flash of blonde hair and blue eyes; a glimpse of fiery red hair and brown eyes.

_Well, the blonde one must have been Deidara-san, but who was the other person?_

Pushing herself up into a sitting position she glanced at the tray on the bedside table. It was strange. She'd been so hungry before but now, looking at all that food on the tray she didn't feel like eating at all.

"Eat."

Turning she found Itachi sitting in a chair by a large window, with his feet propped up on another. As usual he looked completely relaxed, eyes closed and showing no sign of moving any time soon.

Sighing softly she began to munch her way slowly through the food. As she did so she couldn't help but notice how the sky had cleared, allowing the sun to shine through the window and onto his jet black hair framing his handsome face. She hadn't realised before but his hair was much longer than she had thought. She wondered if it was a soft as it looked.

"If I remember correctly, you don't like being stared at. Neither do I," he said, eyes opening slowly as he turned to look at her.

"Gomen," she replied, looking away quickly.

_Now _he's _staring at _me.

"Do you often have nightmares?" He asked.

That was the last thing she had expected him to say and looked back at him in surprise. She didn't reply though. She was too caught in his deep, black eyes.

* * *

Oh, I wonder what she'll make of that...

Especially for -Asa-Hoshi- no big cliffy today...And because I couldn't think of something to put in at this point in the story... 

Planning on more Deidara and some Sasori in the next chapter.

By the way, Hana's full name 'Moudoku Hana' means 'Deadly Poisonous Flower'... But only if you write it the Japanese way round.

Review please...If I get lots I might just happen to find the time to update sooner -hint hint-...Oh and I re-did the summary... Have a read if you want...


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Naruto_

I'm so so so so so SO sorry that it's taken me so long to update, but i've been really busy and i have art exams and my spaish oral exams next week, so i've been caught up in all of that..

As always, thanks so much to those who reviewed! You guys make it worth giving up hours of should-be-revision time to write!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Itachi watched the girl's face. At first she was simply surprised; her eyebrows then furrowed and he could almost hear 'why' and 'how' echoing in her head; then her pretty blue-green eyes narrowed and he realised she was angry.

"There are so many things I don't understand anymore. Every time something happens, I have no idea what's going on. How could I have missed all of this before? Whatever happened to _normal_? And you know what? I'm not even going to bother asking for an explanation this time," she drew her eyes away from his and pulled back the covers, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, "because you're not going to answer anyway."

Strange; that wasn't exactly the reaction he had been expecting from her. He had thought it would be something more along the lines of staring, then questioning and that he would end up finally having to explain what a kekkai genkai was. He had been wrong though, and that didn't happen often.

As she moved something slipped from her shoulders and onto the floor. His cloak – she barely remembered him wrapping it around her. As she picked it to cover herself again, she noticed that the carpet was black, as it had been in his room before and was soft on her bare feet.

Pushing herself up with her good arm she stood and took a shaky step towards the bathroom. She didn't get far though. Suddenly she felt dizzy and the room began to swim around her. She closed her eyes and brought her hand to her head, willing the room to go still. To add to it, her legs went weak and refused to support her weight any longer.

Strong arms caught her and stopped her from falling. She clung to him and leant heavily against him until her head stopped spinning. Because of the height difference she had her head resting against his chest. In her dizzy mind she heard a steady 'thump-thump' and it took her a moment to realise it was his heartbeat. Along with that was the gentle movement of his chest as he breathed. It was so relaxing that she almost forgot that he had taken her captive and that she was currently a prisoner and injured because of him. By rights she should hate him…but she couldn't seem to find it within herself at that moment.

Itachi gazed down at her. She looked relaxed, almost peaceful, and all the anger from a moment ago was gone. She seemed to have a short leash on her temper, and yet it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Opening her eyes, she looked up at him, silently searching for a reason why she was currently clinging to him to simply stand up straight.

"You lost a lot of blood," he said, "it will be a few days before you can move around much."

_He actually answered an unspoken question… I should try that more often…_

He led her slowly in slow wobbly steps to the bathroom. With a small smile of thanks she locked the door behind her. Steadying herself by holding onto the sink she gazed at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced.

Her hair was a knotted, black mess, hanging around her face and over shoulders. She was pale and sickly looking and there were traces of dried blood still on her cheek, along with dirty smudges all over the place. Dark rings around her eyes showed how tired she was.

_I guess being unconscious doesn't really count as sleep…_

Splashing her face with warm water she sighed and dried it on a soft white towel, smiling at the instant noticeable difference. Running her fingers slowly through her tangled hair while leaning back against the door she pulling out a few stray leaves she'd spotted and wondered where Hana was at this moment. She vaguely remembered Kisame running after her.

_Did he find her?

* * *

_

Orochimaru smirked, "A mistake? What did you do this time?" 

"Che, like I'm going to tell you."

He watched her calmly with his yellow eyes, "Did you give away your hiding place?"

She glared at him, "Something like that."

"Tsk, tsk, Hana-chan, I thought you'd grown out of that?"

"Urusai, Snaky," she spat. Oh how she wanted to slap that smirk off his face, "Enough with that, what do you want?"

"Well, let's put it this way. Anything that Akatsuki wants is worth having. They know too, I suppose?"

"Of course," she replied flatly.

"And what exactly is their interest in you?" The man behind her asked.

She turned to him as she spoke to him, "Kabuto-san, they're A-ka-tsu-ki. They don't tell anyone anything. You think they just sat us down and explained their plans to us?" She shook her head with a patronising a smile and received his fist on her jaw. She considered throwing one back so that she would smash his glasses but decided against it.

"Oh, not going to fight back?" Orochimaru asked, "That reminds me. You didn't fight back against my snake. Neither did Amaya-san and I'm curious as to why. Have you gotten so weak?"

Hana was silent. That was one question she was not going to answer.

Orochimaru laughed, the creepy sound of it bouncing off the stone walls, "No matter. Sasuke-kun, she's all yours."

_Sasuke? That sounds familiar…_

For the first time the person stood beside Orochimaru's chair moved. Pushing the door open he waited silently for her to walk through. With a final glare at Orochimaru she followed silently, trying to think of a way she could get out of this.

As she passed the man she looked up, to find that he was actually younger than she had expected - perhaps a couple of years younger than herself – and he was the last person she had expected to see. Dark eyes, almost black with a faint blue tint, looked down at her coldly. His hair matched his eyes, framing his face. He looked so much like his brother, it was unmistakable.

_Wow, you don't see any Uchihas for years then you meet the last two in the space of a few days!_

He led her to a room and told her to sit in the chair in the centre. Smoothing her face to hide her nervousness she did as she was told.

"I have better things to do than waste my time questioning you, so I'd advise you tell me what I want to know to begin with and save yourself the trouble later. Where is Akatsuki's base?"

"There was one near the border of Earth country, but that was attacked and they were taking us to another one. I have no idea where that one is." A much as she might come across as stupid, she wasn't a fool and knew it was best to be straight with him. He was an Uchiha, after all.

"Uchiha Itachi -."

"He was one of the ones who abducted us in the first place. We were travelling with him when Orochimaru attacked us. I doubt there is anything I can tell you about him you don't already know. But you already knew that, too, and that's why you want me, isn't it?"

Sasuke stared at her. She was brighter than he had thought, "Yes. When they come to retrieve you, we will let them take you. You will then be our spy within Akatsuki."

"You want me to find out their plans, or just to get information on your brother?"

"Everything," he replied, a slight twitch of his eye the only sign that he resented being referred to as Itachi's brother, "If you do not agree, you will be killed. If you betray us, you will be killed."

"Huh, I guess I'll have to be your spy then." She didn't particularly want to be his spy, and she certainly didn't want to work for the snake-man, but what choice did she have? "Are you sure they won't catch on, though?"

"They shouldn't, as long as you don't give it away."

She guessed that was a warning to keep her mouth shut.

"Someone will come to collect the information from you every week or so."

Then, turning, he moved towards the door.

"Wait, you're just going to leave me here? There's nothing in here apart from a chair," she called after him.

"You're a prisoner," he pointed out as he glanced over his shoulder at her, before closing the door behind him.

* * *

It was two days later when Hana was sitting silently in her room, scowling at the stone walls in the dim light, when she heard footsteps running down the corridor towards her. 

She was hungry; they had fed her, but not very much and only occasionally, so she was feeling weakened, but still had enough strength to get to her feet and press her ear against the door.

She was tired, too. It was almost impossible to sleep comfortably in a wooden chair and her only other option, the floor, wasn't much better. Stretching her aching limbs she wondered if the sound of a door being flung open was someone from Akatsuki, come to get her.

Stepping back she waited for her own door to be almost removed from its hinges and when it did, she had expected to see Sharky, or Itachi. But it was neither of them.

Instead, a boy stood in the doorway. He was a little taller than her, with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a bright orange suit, with black across the shoulders. He had a forehead protector bearing the Konoha symbol tied around his head and a determined look set on his face, which seemed to grow more determined as he muttered, "Not here either," and he turned to leave.

Then he stopped and turned back, taking a moment to look her up and down, before asking, "Are you a prisoner?"

Hana stared at him. _I was in a locked cell. I'm dirty and smell like rotten fish. Is he stupid? Of course I'm a bloody prisoner!_

Despite the fact that the answer to his question was a definite 'yes' she had to wait for Akatsuki - she couldn't leave Amaya with them on her own – and so, she was about to tell him 'no'.

However, before she got the chance to grudgingly tell him her answer, he had run into the cell, taken a hold on her wrist and begun to run down the corridor with her.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I didn't come here to rescue anyone apart from my friend, but I can't just leave you there," the boy replied.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me, I'm fine, honestly. You can leave me here…"

"What are you on about? He's evil! What ever he's promised you, forget it! Whatever it is you're hoping to achieve by going to him, he'll find a way to use it to his own advantage, or cheat you out of it so that you die regretting that you ever went to him. You'll be safe back at Konoha and I'm sure Tsunade-baachan will help you with whatever you need."

Hana ran along beside him. He was clearly speaking from experience, but she already knew well what Orochimaru was like and would never let him use her. She wanted to go back to her cell, let herself be recaptured by Akatsuki and go back to Amaya-chan, yet at the same time she wanted to go with this boy. She couldn't help but trust him. Besides, she had only ever heard of one person called 'Tsunade' and would not pass up the chance to meet her.

Making up her mind, she grinned at the boy, "Arigatou! So what's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied, giving her a wide smile back, "You?"

"Hana," she answered.

_Amaya-chan…I hope I made the right choice…  
__

* * *

_

Yes, i know, it was kinda short, and very very boring and rubbish... The next chapter will be better though. Promise. 

Feel free to leave me a review telling me how much you want to shoot me... Oh, and i've decided to allow anon. reviews for this chapter. if it turns out well, i'll leave it for the next chapters too...So go on, review!


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! Woot! Five that time! And it's great to see i'm still getting new reviewers 10 chapters in! Thank you!

I know, I know, this chapter took me forever to write, but it's really long to make up for it...Just hope its not _too _long now...

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Hana now found herself stood outside an office, waiting to speak to the Hokage and took time to gaze out a window at the village. She hadn't seen Konoha in a long time, but it was exactly how she remembered it. Clear blue skies, leafy green trees, the streets full of lively people going about their daily lives and the wonderful smell of that gorgeous ramen floating through the air. She made a mental note to go there later, if she got the chance.

However, the thing that caught her eye was the new face that had been carved into the mountain, along side the previous Hokages. She had been surprised at first to hear that Tsunade – _the_ Tsunade, of the three legendary sannin! – was the new Hokage, and a little saddened to hear of the Third's death, but she guessed it was a good choice. After all, she was said to be an amazing medic-nin.

_But didn't she have a gambling problem…and wasn't she an alcoholic?_

Just then the door opened and a young woman with black hair and dark eyes told her to come in. With another glance out the window Hana nodded and stepped into the room.

Books and files were piled up on the desk, with many more stacked up all around the room and the shelves lining the walls were packed. It wasn't the mess that held her attention though, nor was it the sake bottles lying around confirming the fact that the Godaime was an alcoholic. It was the woman herself, sat behind the desk, blonde hair shining in the sun coming through the large window behind her, her brown eyes drilling into Hana.

"Shizune, tell Sakura I want to see her in half an hour," Tsunade said to the other woman.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied, and left the two alone.

Since she had been 'rescued' by Naruto, Hana had made quite good friends with him and Sakura, even though they had only travelled together for a day or so. When she had left the building with Naruto, they'd met up with the rest of his team. She soon found out that it was Sasuke who they had wanted to get back, but they hadn't been able to find him.

She supposed that was why they got on so well. Currently separated from her best friend who was in the hands of the enemy, and not knowing when she would see her again. Even though her situation was a little different, she understood how they were feeling.

Thinking about Amaya she hadn't noticed the woman get out of her chair to stand in front of her. Looking up into those piercing brown eyes she had to stop herself from moving out of arms reach. She'd heard the stories of what this woman was capable of.

"What were you doing with Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked bluntly.

"We were attacked and he kidnapped me," Hana explained.

"Why?"

"He wanted me to spy on Akatsuki."

"You're with Akatsuki?" Brown eyes narrowed slightly.

"No, no, I was kidnapped by them."

"You were kidnapped by Akatsuki _and_ Orochimaru?"

"Yup, Orochimaru kidnapped me from Akatsuki who kidnapped me when I was…walking…" She trailed off. Tsunade arched an eyebrow; she didn't seem to believe her.

"And what do Akatsuki want with you?"

"I don't know."

"What village do you belong to?"

Hana blinked, "Eh?" She hadn't been expecting that one, "What do you mean?" She answered, buying herself a moment of time.

_Answer truthfully, and avoid awkward questions later, but risk giving myself away completely, or lie and be safe, but deal with the questions and maybe end up getting found out anyway…_

"Your ninja village – and don't try to deny that you're a kunoichi. Naruto and everyone all made their reports and you kept up with them without breaking a sweat, easily using chakra. So, what village are you from?"

"Kumogakure," Hana replied after a moment, deciding to go with the truth.

Tsunade nodded and sat back down at her desk, seemingly satisfied that Hana wasn't an enemy; for the moment, anyway, "You'll fight against Sakura so I can get some idea of your abilities and decide what to do with you."

"A-ano, I…I have to save my friend from Akatsuki."

"Your friend? You didn't mention her before," Tsunade gave her a hard stare, thinking over the information that she currently had.

_Hana, from Kumogakure, kidnapped along with her friend. Both wanted by Akatsuki and Orochimaru. They can't just be two normal girls. _

"How old are you?" She asked finally.

"What does that have to do with my friend?" Hana asked back. This didn't seem to be going so well.

"Eighteen?" Tsunade pressed. _Surely they couldn't be…They disappeared, so why would they have shown themselves again now?_

"Nineteen, actually," corrected Hana.

"And your friend, how old is she?" _If I'm right, she's a year younger…_

"Eighteen."

_Kuso, I _am_ right…_"Her name?"

Hana gave her a dark look and said angrily, almost shouting, "Why bother asking when you already know!"

_Baka!_ She screamed at herself, _just give your self away why don't you?!_

Tsunade sighed, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't hand you over to be questioned and locked up right this instant. And get rid of that jutsu, you can show your real face now."

Sighing Hana did as she was told. Blonde hair changed to golden-brown, the waves changing to neat, bouncy ringlets; silver-grey eyes turned to soft hazel with a hint of green and she was actually a good two inches taller.

As she released the jutsu she thought carefully over her answer.

"I need to get Amaya-chan back, but then you can do whatever you want with me, so long as you don't touch her."

Tsunade gave her a questioning look, "I assume that you're asking for help in rescuing her?"

Hana nodded.

"Then, naturally, after we had done that, she would be treated the same way you will be."

"But-but you can't."

"Oh no? And why is that?"

"It's not fair!" Hana sounded almost desperate.

"Why?" Tsunade snapped back.

"Because the past is the past, and it's been forgotten, literally. You can't punish someone for something they can't remember. Especially if all they wanted was to forget in the first place…"

Tsunade was silent for a moment, and when she spoke her voice was a little softer, "You're talking about Amaya?"

Nodding, Hana sighed.

"Tell me what happened," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair and opening a new bottle of sake.

Sitting herself down in a seat across from the Hokage, Hana took a deep breath and thought about where to begin.

"I expect that there's a lot you already know but…" She wasn't really sure where it had all started, "When we were younger…"

* * *

_"Amaya!"_

Again Amaya woke with a start, sweat running down her face. She'd had that same dream four nights in a row now, and she didn't seem to get any further. It always stopped when the second person called her name, and she still didn't know who it was.

Slipping out of bed she padded into the bathroom and splashed her face with cool water, peering at herself in the mirror. She was looking a lot better after a few days of decent meals and sleep; although, she still wasn't getting as much sleep as she would have liked.

_Damn dream. No, nightmare, more like…_

She could walk without getting dizzy now and her wound was much better. It was still a little sore, but she could move it again and it didn't need the bandage anymore. She had Sasori to thank for that. He seemed to be the only one in Akatsuki who knew any kind of medical jutsu, and she had found out that it was him who had healed her when Itachi first brought her there.

As to where 'there' actually was, she had no idea, nor did she have any idea where Itachi had disappeared to after she had woken up the first time. When she had come out of the bathroom he had been gone, leaving her to stumble back to the bed on her own and she hadn't seen him since. Not that she particularly wanted to, of course, she just thought it would be nice to have some company every now and again.

Sasori had come every day to check on her, but now that she was mostly healed he didn't need to come anymore. He only ever stayed for a couple of minutes, anyway. Occasionally Deidara would appear in her room to bring her some food – which was always terrible but she ate it anyway - or simply because he was bored and had nothing better to do. He hadn't come so far today though, due to the embarrassing situation the day before.

She'd just gotten out of the shower and was wearing nothing but a towel and Deidara had entered without knocking. In fact, he had 'poofed' into her room without any kind of warning at all, and almost frightened her out of her skin. As it was she almost dropped her towel, barely managing to hold onto half her dignity when she caught it around her waist.

He apologised quickly and disappeared again, his cheeks slightly pink. She, however, continued to shout at him whether he could hear her or not, until she decided that she ought to dress herself in case he decided to come back to shut her up.

As to _why_ she had come out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel instead of dressing whilst in there, was because she had turned around to put her clothes on a found that they were gone. She had made sure before she got into the shower that the door was well and truly locked, yet she found it open. Although she hadn't seen him she was sure it had been Itachi, and just for the fun of it he had left her a change of clothes…on the bed.

_Why does he have to be so difficult?!_

At least she had clean clothes now, though, even if they were a little big.

_They're probably his…_

She wasn't sure how to feel about that, so she ignored it.

Sitting in one of the chairs by the window, she gazed outside. She wished she could get out of the stuffy room, or open a window, but the 'barrier thing' was around her room again and she couldn't even touch the window without getting a shock. So she sat there and let her mind wander.

Kisame wasn't back yet, and she wondered what was taking him so long. Was Hana okay? Where did the man take her? Amaya still wanted to go out and try and find her friend but knew it would be useless.

_Useless…I'm useless…I don't even know where _I _am, let alone where Hana-chan is…There must be something I can do other than sit here and wait…_

She spent a while trying to think of something she could do, but found it hard to come up with ideas that didn't involve her being outside of the room.

Three hours later she was still sat there, but she had got bored and decided to poke around in the room a bit. There were some draws which she pulled open to have a peek into. She avoided the top draw, as that was generally where people put their underwear and she did _not_ want any more embarrassing situations.

In the others there were just clothes. They seemed to be his 'casual' clothes, as there was a wardrobe filled with all his Akatsuki attire, from the blue sandals to the straw hats. She couldn't resist making the small bell ring.

There was a desk with a few books piled on it, some scrolls with various pieces of information and some empty scrolls, but nothing particularly interesting.

Moving to the bookshelf she read the name of each book, occasionally pulling one out to take a closer look before putting it back after discovering that it was about something completely uninteresting.

_He's so boring!_

Then she stopped as she saw a thin book with nothing written on its spine. Naturally, it caught her attention. She pulled it out, turning it over in hands. The cover was pitch black, and there wasn't even a title printed on the front. Opening it she found the first page blank too. The next one had writing on it though.

'_The Nine Tailed Beasts.'_

She turned to the next page; this could be interesting.

'_Ichibi - Shukaku,' _it was titled, _'Element: Wind,'_ then followed some more information about it, but her eye was drawn to the last piece, _'Jinchuuriki: Sabaku no Garra.'_

'_Jinchuuriki'? What does it mean by that? Who is 'Sabaku no Garra'? Is he real?_

She flicked to the next page. It was pretty much the same, except the jinchuuriki was unknown, as were the jinchuuriki for most of the other bijuu. The last one had a name though, _'Uzumaki Naruto'_.

_So they only know two of them? _

Each of the beasts was in the form of a different creature. She read down the Rokubi's page when she saw that it was a weasel.

_Itachi means weasel…_

'_Rokubi – Raijuu;_ _Element: Lightning; In the form of a weasel, four legs, sharp claws and it's cry sounds like thunder; Jinchuuriki: unknown.'_

_Even though Itachi means weasel he doesn't seem to have anything else in common with it…I'm sure his cries wouldn't sound like thunder…_

That wasn't the only bijuu that seemed to have a connection with a member of Akatsuki. Though she didn't really know any of them, and there were still a few of them she hadn't met, she couldn't help but think how the Sanbi, especially, seemed to share some qualities with Kisame, and the Shichibi's use of clay seemed to suggest Deidara.

Replacing the book on the shelf she returned to her chair, deep in thought.

_They can't be the jinchuuriki themselves, though, or they would have filled in all the names. Maybe they're just interested in them, or use them to represent themselves?_

_What's to say that they have anything to do with these bijuu anyway? It's a book. It could just be something he's interested in…_

Her thoughts trailed off as she felt eyes on her back.

_How long has he been there? Did he watch me go through his room? And his wardrobe?! Would he care that I read that book? If he did wouldn't he have said something? Maybe he only just came in? If I just ignore him maybe he'll go away again..._

Sadly, he didn't go away. Instead he crossed the room and settled himself in the other chair beside her. Turning her head slowly she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her again.

_That's. So. Annoying!_

"You need to breathe," he said casually.

She looked at him blankly. _Breathe? _Then she realised that she had been holding her breath since she'd noticed he was in the room. Letting it go she turned back to the window and tucked her hair behind her ear angrily.

_Why does he always make me feel stupid? And I'm going to have to chop this damn hair off, before I end up pulling it out!_

Then she had an idea. He probably had some of those kunai things on him. Perhaps he'd let her borrow one?

…_doubt it…_

Turning to ask him anyway, she found that he was gone. Turning in her chair she saw him standing by the draws. Taking something out, he moved back towards her. She watched him warily.

He came to stand behind her. She looked up at him, waiting to see what he was planning on doing. His hand came up and he caught her chin, turning her face away. She was a little unhappy about him being directly behind her where she couldn't see, but that was soon replaced by surprise as he gathered up her hair and she felt him tie it with something.

Retaking his seat he stared out of the window, as though he hadn't just done something that, to Amaya, seemed a little out of character. Raising her hand she felt the ribbon he had tied her hair with. It was silky. She'd been expecting something the same as what his hair was tied with, but she simply couldn't picture him using a silky ribbon.

_So why would he have one? Maybe it was a gift…? Who'd give a guy like him a silk ribbon?_

He really was a mystery and she felt a strange desire to find out what lay behind that emotionless mask, to find out the meaning behind all of his actions. To find out what was going on in his mind.

"When did the nightmares start?" He asked suddenly, the sound of his low voice in the silence making her jump.

She looked at him. He'd asked the same question four days ago, but she hadn't answered.

"When I got hurt," she answered, touching her shoulder lightly.

"Is it the same every night?"

"Yeah…Wait, how do you know I have it every night? You're never here."

He didn't answer.

"Do you watch me when I sleep or something?" _That's creepy…Now I won't be able to sleep at all!_

"Don't flatter your self," he replied.

_Does he mean that I'm not worth watching?_

"This is my room," he continued.

_I already knew that. What's his point?_

"I need to sleep, too."

_His room and he need to sleep. So he sleeps in here and knows that I have nightmares. I hope he sleeps on the floor…_

"It's my bed."

_Damn, I thought I'd got out of the habit of speaking my thoughts aloud…Hang on. His bed…?_

"You can't mean…You _don't_ sleep on the floor?" She asked.

"No."

"So you…"

"Yes."

She jumped to her feet and glared down at him. His lips creased in the hint of a smile. When she was angry her eyes glittered and were even prettier. And she was quite amusing when she was angry.

"You sleep…in that bed…where I sleep?"

"Yes. It's quite simple yet you seem to have trouble understanding it. Perhaps you're stupider than I thought?"

Her eyes narrowed, "I'll have you know that I'm actually quite bright. At least I don't climb into bed with someone else, without them even knowing!"

"You're_ 'quite bright'_? It's a shame you haven't shown any sign of it yet."

She took a deep calming breath to stop her self shouting, "Well, it's a shame that you haven't noticed it."

"It's a shame you don't realise that it wasn't there to notice."

"It's a shame that _you_ don't realise that it was!"

"It's a shame it's impossible to hold a conversation with you, without you getting angry."

"And it's a bloody shame you don't have the personality to match your face!" She stopped. _Damn. That means I admit he's good looking._

He didn't reply that time. Instead he left her standing there looking as though she had just been slapped in the face, her mouth hanging open as a soft, low chuckle rang in her ears. He laughed. He had a small smile on his face and he had laughed. She supposed it was a rare moment, and she wouldn't forget how much more handsome that smile made him look.

"Oh, very clever indeed," he said getting to his feet, and his hand came to her chin again, closing her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

He turned and headed for the door.

"Wait, are you making fun of me again? I'm not stupid! And what was that, anyway?"

"Hn?"

"You, smiling, and you laughed. So far, from what I've seen, you never show any kind of emotion at all…"

"When you're angry, you're…amusing."

* * *

I hope Itachi wasn't too out of character there... A nice little moment between him and Amaya, though. Nothing really big and gripping in this chapter, even though it was so long, but i thought a break from all the action would be nice. 

Okay, just a few notes... I don't really know if any of the Akatsuki are medic-nins but, in my personal opinion, if anyone is going to have some medic jutsu then it would be Sasori, for a number of reasons (but i won't say them because of spoilerness).  
I'm sure you all know what 'bijuu' are, but in case you don't its just the tailed beasts... Ichibi - One tail, Sanbi - Three tails, Rokubi - six tails, Shichibi - Seven tails.  
Kumogakure - 'Village Hidden in the Clouds'.

I think thats about it, so please leave me a review!


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…_

Thank you all for the reviews! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story as much I'm enjoying writing it...So here's chapter 12, yay!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Amaya lay awake. She couldn't sleep. Not with the thought that Itachi could creep into the room and crawl into the bed beside her at any moment. She had considered moving to the floor, but that was probably what he wanted and she was currently feeling stubborn – and that would teach him for thinking she was stupid. Hah.

However, despite her efforts to stay awake she soon felt herself growing tired and could not stop her eyes from closing. _Well,_ she reasoned,_ I don't have to have my eyes open to feel him climb into the bed. Besides, it's dark and I can't see anything anyway…_

She listened, but dead silence lay all around her, drawing her in, and before she knew it she found herself sinking to a deep sleep…

_Falling, falling, the same as every other time she had had this dream._

No, not this again!

_The sound of her mother singing floated down to her, but her attention was drawn from the gentle melody as someone screamed her name._

"_Amaya-chan!" _

_Amaya smiled sadly, keeping her eyes closed to stop herself from crying, _Hana-chan, arigatou. You were always my best friend…Always there for me…Arigatou…

_Another cry reached her ears._

"_Amaya!"_

_Her eyes flew open and she looked up to see who it was that had called for her. Her long hair was blocking her view though, so she pulled it out of the way quickly. She caught a glimpse of someone far above before they were pulled away from the edge, protesting. It still wasn't enough to make out who it was._

_She knew that voice, though. Their name was on the tip of her tongue. She opened her mouth to call out to them._

_But it was too late. She had fallen as far as she was going to go. The breath was knocked from her small body as the rocks below tore at her. Their sharp edges ripped through her clothes, piercing her skin, drawing blood. Loud snaps rang in her head as she struggled to draw air into her lungs. The pain was unbearable, like fire, burning through her whole body. Tears rushed from her fading blue eyes. She screamed. _

Her eyes shot open as the scream tore from her throat. Her heart was pounding, her breathing rushed and ragged. She rolled to the side and let out a cry as she fell from the bed, hitting the floor.

"No, no, no, no, no! Help me, onegai, someone…" she whispered fervently, unable to manage much more; the pain was too intense.

She couldn't see. There was nothing but black. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She forced herself to sit up as she ran shaking hands over herself, just waiting to feel the hot, sticky blood seeping through her clothes

"Itai, itai…Make it stop, onegai…onegai..."

A sudden hand on her shoulder made her jump; her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes met with his crimson ones. They still scared her and made her feel uneasy, but right at that moment…right at that moment, she was happy to see them.

_I'm awake…It was just a dream, a nightmare…I'm not hurt, not dying…_

"Uchiha-san." Her voice was barely audible, even for him. With the sharingan he could see her clearly in the dark. The fear on her face was evident, relief touching her features when she saw him. She was pale and shaking, sweat mingling with the tears on her cheeks.

Her hand came up shakily to touch him as if to confirm that he was really there, crouched before her. As soon she her hand brushed against his chest she let it drop, bringing it to cover her face, her other hand joining it as her shoulders shook. She sobbed into her hands uncontrollably, unable to stop herself.

Amaya hated crying. It made her feel like a weak child, but she couldn't help it. Her hair had come free again and covered her face. For once she was glad, as it hid her from his eyes.

He waited silently for her to calm down a little before taking her hands in his own and pulling them away from her face. She tried to pull her hands free, but he laid them firmly on her lap.

Lifting her chin with his fingers he made her look him in the eye.

"Stop crying," he said.

"Leave me alone," she mumbled back, moving her head away. He caught her chin again, forcing her to look at him.

"Don't answer back. Stop crying."

She wiped her eyes and shuffled backwards away from him, "Have you ever seen anyone just stop crying on demand? Baka, I'm obviously crying for a reason, so just leave me alone and let me cry!"

Something flew past her, making her hair stir as it did so. There was a small crack as the thing buried itself a small way into the wall. She guessed that was for calling him a baka.

"And what is that reason?" He asked coldly.

"Huh, that doesn't take a genius to work out, _baka_." Her emotions were running high, she was tired, fed up, and simply didn't care anymore.

Suddenly she ducked and felt something brush the top of her head. _That one was close._

"Call me that once more and I will make sure you never call me it again," he said darkly.

"I'm sure you will," she threw back.

"Well, now that you've stopped crying, tell me about your nightmare."

"Don't make it sound like I stopped crying because you said so – I stopped because I don't feel like it anymore," she said angrily, "And no, I don't really want to talk about it…" …_especially to you. Where's Hana-chan when you need her?_

"I did not_ ask_ you."

"I noticed."

"Tell me," he repeated.

"Why should I?"

Oh, she was testing his patience and he was very close to putting an end to her silliness. She needed to realise that she was still a prisoner and he was in charge.

"Because, I am _telling_ you to."

"That's not a good enough reason and I don't respond well to being told what to do. Perhaps if you were a little nicer and actually _asked_ me to tell you I might be a little more willing."

He thought for a moment. "Very well," he would try it her way, but only this once, "Would you tell me about your nightmare?"

She made a face to pretend that she was thinking it over before shaking her head, eyes narrowed, "No, I don't think I will."

That was it. He had been perfectly reasonable and done it her way, but she was being difficult. Now they would do it his way.

She blinked as his eyes disappeared from in front of her, replaced with a strong hand pulling her roughly to her feet and something sharp against her throat.

"Tell me," he said quietly, his deep voice dangerously soft as he spoke into her ear.

Amaya knew that she was probably on very thin ice her and she was seriously close to falling through, but she couldn't stop the answer that escaped her lips: "No."

He pressed the kunai against her neck a little harder, almost drawing blood and was about to repeat his order when she laid her hand over his.

"Put it away. You're not going to kill me because you obviously have some use for me else you wouldn't have kidnapped us, or I would be dead already. I don't want to tell you, and why do you want to know anyway? It's not like you care," she said tiredly.

"No, I don't."

"Then go away."

"Do not tell me what to do."

"Go. Away."

He spun her around to face him, burning red eyes fixed on her, "Do not push me. I could make you experience things that make death look like a blessing."

"Why don't you then? You lay down threats but so far you haven't laid a hand on me -." She stopped as his hand came into contact with her cheek, making it sting. He had hit her quite hard, causing her to turn her head and she resisted the urge to bring her hand up to touch what she suspected would turn into a hand shaped bruise.

"Now-," he began but he, too, was cut off, as _her_ hand came into contact with _his_ cheek. He blinked. With the sharingan he had seen it coming, obviously, and he could easily have moved out of the way but the fact that she would dare stunned him so much that he didn't move.

She was quite surprised too. As it was still dark she couldn't see him and had to judge where his cheek was according to his eyes. She was a little disappointed that he didn't even flinch but she had hit him and that was satisfying enough.

As his hand hit her cheek again she almost lost her balance, but refused to fall and instead swung her own hand back towards him, rewarded with another hit.

_Two, two…_She counted.

He replied in kind and her cheek was burning but she looked up him, her own eyes shining as a small smile formed on her lips.

_Three, two…_

"Don't you da-," Itachi began.

Slap. _Three, three…_

"You were saying?"

Slap. _Four, three…_

"Don't you _dare_," he finished.

Slap. _Four, four…_ She refused to let him win.

"I told you, I don't like being told-."

SLAP. _Itai! That one was harder! Five, four, damn him!_

"You were saying?" He said, copying her own words.

"…what to do!" She ended her sentence, accompanying it with all the strength she could muster as her hand collided with his cheek again. His head turned ever so slightly and she smiled triumphantly.

He hit her back, as was to be expected, and said, "Hit me one more time and I will make you wish-."

Her hand came up but he caught her easily around the wrist. Why he hadn't done so sooner he wasn't really sure, but he had been interested to see how many times she would actually dare to hit him back.

"-that you hadn't."

She watched him silently. The sun had started to rise, shining the first few morning rays of light through the window. She could just about make out his face now, along with the red, almost perfect hand print on his cheek. She hoped it would stay there for a few days.

Her own cheek was feeling a little swollen and tender, her hand stung and was red, but she seemed to have worked all the anger out of her system – for now – and was feeling much, much better.

Itachi wasn't quite sure what to make of her. She would have a bruise for sure, but she should have fallen at the first hit, yet she stood for six, and now she was looking at him with a small smile on her soft lips.

"Now your cheek matches your eyes, ne?"

His lips twitched at the corners in an almost smile, but other than that he ignored what she had said.

"Tell me about your dream."

Her smile grew and she let out a small laugh, "You're not going to leave me alone unless I tell you, are you? Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Recurring dreams often have a meaning behind them. If you can find that then they might stop."

"And what do you care if they go away or not?" She asked, looking at him questioningly.

"If you keep waking me up, I won't get any sleep."

"So you do sleep in here?"

"Yes. Now, tell me."

She sighed as he released her hand and moved towards the chairs by the window. Drawing up her legs she rested her elbow on her knee, her chin on her hand. After he had seated himself in the other chair she took a deep breath and began.

"Usually it starts with me running and there are people chasing me…"

* * *

Hana looked up at the night's sky from the roof top where she was stood. Sakura had kindly agreed to let her stay at her house, in the spare room, but it was only temporary until Tsunade decided what to do about her and Amaya. 

It was a still and silent night with no moon. The stars were shining though, pinpricks in the dark velvet of the night. It was a little chilly but that didn't bother her. She'd needed to get out of that small room and resisted the urge to go after Amaya then and there. The truth was that she didn't really know where Amaya was at the moment.

She knew where someone else was though.

"I'm surprised you managed to get in here without being noticed. And you don't hide your chakra nearly as well as you think you do. Most ninja probably wouldn't notice it, but you'll need to do better than that to sneak up on me, Sharky."

Kisame landed lightly beside her, grinning, "Not bad for a midget."

"Hey, I'm actually taller than I was with that jutsu, thank you very much."

He looked down at her, pointing out matter-of-factly, "you're still a midget compared to me."

"Isn't everyone?" She asked, and then sighed, becoming serious, "Why are you here? Come to take me back?"

"No, actually, I was thinking that I might have to kill you so that you don't cause any trouble and come after your friend."

"What? Why do you only want her?"

"We have uses for her."

Hana's eyes widened.

"I think I'll enjoy this," Kisame said as he freed Samehada and prepared to run at her.

She dodged him easily, "You'll have to do better than that if you want to get me. We have been missing for a year, but you don't think I just sat around for the whole time, did you?"

Throwing some kunai at him she began to formulate a plan. He was fast, but that wasn't a problem. Samehada was. She knew it could absorb chakra if it touched her, let alone cause a lot of damage. To beat him she'd have to somehow make him drop it, or something to that affect.

First things first though, they needed to move this battle somewhere else, away from where innocent villagers could get caught up in the mix. She jumped backwards as he came at her again, leading him away. He knew what she was doing but it didn't bother him. She alone would be enough fun for now.

* * *

Sorry for the cliff hanger, but it was getting quite long and I'm going to be busy the next few days, so it was stop there and post it now or keep you all waiting for two or three more days. So I decided to stop there…Besides, it was another, umm...nice...moment for Itachi and Amaya...

Plus, I didn't feel like writing anymore right now as I had a really bad day today…So why don't you all review and cheer me up a little, ne?


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…_

Ano… Hello. I know, it's been way too long since I last updated. Feel free to throw kunai/shuriken/weapons of your choice at me. I've been really busy lately and was hoping to get another chapter up in Easter but, well, something came up and I didn't feel like writing for a while…

But now I'm back in the mood, and will be updating again…I just hope everyone remembers what happened…

In case you don't...  
Amaya just had a nightmare where she was pushed over the edge of a cliff by her father. As she was falling an unknown person called out to her, and she was about to call back but she...hit the ground...Waking with a start she was quite distressed and found herself facing Itachi. The two of them had what turned into a playful fight, leaving them both with sore cheeks...Aww... Hana and Kisame are about to begin fighting after Kisame has told her that they only want Amaya.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Itachi's red eyes were fixed on Amaya as she spoke. The light from outside was slowly growing as the day crept up on them, flooding into the room through the window and making her dark hair shine as she gathered it up and retied it with the scarlet ribbon.

She was calm now, and finished telling him about her nightmare with a sigh, stretching as she looked over at him for the first time since she had begun speaking; she still didn't like those eyes.

"So, any idea of what its meaning might be?" She asked, wondering how talkative he was going to be this morning.

She guessed that he wasn't really in the mood for it as he didn't reply straight away; instead he took his time thinking over what she had told him.

It was a memory. He was sure of it, but she didn't seem to realise and he didn't tell her – it would probably be best for her to work that out on her own. Instead he thought of why that particular memory would have been dragged up.

_Perhaps it was the memory of the pain. A snake fang almost right through her shoulder must have hurt; though surely not as much as what she described. It could have been the thoughts that she might die, which set it off. Maybe it was the experience__ of being parted from her friend; or a combination of everything?_

"I believe it represents your current feelings and recent experiences," he said, speaking finally.

Taking in what he had said, Amaya began to think, "Feelings and recent experiences? I guess that makes sense. Falling…from that big bird! The pain from when that stupid snake skewered me and…the helplessness…" She paused, "I couldn't do anything…"

After a moment another thought occurred, "But why would my parents be there?"

Itachi quickly thought of an answer for that, "Hana-san is like family to you, isn't she?"

Amaya nodded, "She's like a sister to me. But there's still the unknown person. Who could that be?"

Even though she had been about to call out their name, now that she came to think about it she couldn't remember what it was, no matter how hard she tried. It was almost as though it was on the tip of her tongue, yet she couldn't quite get it.

"Anyone; a sibling…"

Amaya shook her head, "I was an only child."

"…someone else who you were close to…"

"I didn't have any other real friends, when I was younger, apart from Hana-chan."

Itachi shrugged lightly, "Perhaps you will find out next time."

Amaya fell silent before speaking quietly, "I don't want there to _be_ a next time."

* * *

Having reached what looked like a training ground of some sort Hana decided that it was far enough away from the rest of the village, and safe for her to stop running and show this freaky blue shark-man that she wasn't to be toyed with. 

_Now, about that sword…How do I make him let go of it? Hurt his arm? I don't think I could chop it right off, nuh uh, but if I could get a deep enough hit…There's no way I'd be able to hit him hard enoug__h for that, not with his speed and I don't have a jutsu that could do it either…Damn it, there has to be a way!_

"What are you doing, midget?" Kisame asked as he appeared behind her, swinging his sword at her head. She'd been standing still, and he almost caught her, but she ducked, feeling the sword brush the top of her head. Even from such a small amount of contact she could feel the chakra sucked from her. She spun with a kunai in her hand to block his next attack before jumping back from him.

Hana had never been very good at thinking on her feet, preferring to go into a fight with a plan all laid out, rather than trying to make it up while actually fighting. She would manage though. Yes, she would manage.

Kisame grunted as she managed to sink a kunai into his arm – to her frustration it was the wrong arm, though. Also she'd had to leave herself open whilst performing the move. Not about to miss his chance, Kisame drew Samehada along her side, cutting deeply into her flesh and causing her to hiss in pain.

Moving back out of his range she put a hand on her side and quickly assessed the seriousness of the wound. It was bad, but not fatal. At least, it wouldn't be fatal if she managed to finish this without taking too long.

She took a moment to catch her breath as Kisame pulled the kunai from his arm and let it drop to the ground.

"I've gotta hand it to you, you're much more fun than I thought you'd be," he said, grinning and showing his sharp teeth. He was beginning to enjoy himself.

Hana wasn't listening though. She was staring at his sword. When he had attacked her some of the bandages had come off; and underneath the bandages it was metal, but not like a normal sword. She'd already known that though – Samehada shaves, rather than cuts. But it was the sudden realisation of the simple fact that it was made of metal that had her mind racing.

_Would that work though? I'd probably need to get the rest of the bandages off first, which could be __difficult and painful, but if it works it would be worth it. And I might not have to worry about fighting him afterwards, too…_

Nodding to herself she let go of her side and wiped her blood covered hands on her clothes (so that she could get a good grip on her weapons) before arming herself again, silently thankful that Sakura had left so many kunai and shuriken lying around.

With her plan clearly laid out in her mind, Hana ran at him again, determination clear on her face. She would win, and then she would go and save Amaya-chan, whether Tsunade would help her or not.

"Let's go, Sharky!"

* * *

Amaya blushed slightly as her stomach rumbled audibly. Itachi's eyebrow arched ever so slightly at her before he got to his feet and gestured for her to follow. She was glad when he led her out of the room she had been stuck in for days. She was even happier when she shortly found herself in a large kitchen. 

Cupboards lined the walls neatly and the floor was wooden. A large table stood in the centre as it had done at the previous base, again with ten chairs positioned around it. The room wasn't particularly colourful, but it was much brighter and more welcoming than the kitchen in the previous underground hideout, due to the amount of light flowing in through the windows.

Deidara was on his feet and seemed to be animatedly explaining something to Sasori, who was silently sat at the table watching him, calmly replying every now and again. When Amaya and Itachi entered they both fell silent and looked over at them.

The glances at her red cheek, and then the slight raising of eyebrows, and a glance shared between them when they saw Itachi's, did not escape her notice. Feeling a little smug she gave a small smile to Deidara as Itachi pushed her towards a chair. Seating herself she returned Sasori's small nod and listened as he and Deidara returned to their previous conversation, while Itachi began to pull open cupboards.

"Really, the beauty of that single, fleeting moment of explosion – that's what art really is, un," Deidara said, moving out of Itachi's way and taking the seat beside Amaya.

"Something that lasts for such a short amount of time cannot be considered art. Art is something wonderful that's left long into the future...Eternal beauty," Sasori replied.

"Hmm, what do you think, Amaya-san, un?" Deidara asked, turning to her.

Amaya looked around at him, "Ano…What do I think…?"

"What you think fine art really is?" Sasori asked. They both looked at her almost expectantly, as though they were both willing her to take their side on the matter.

"Ano…Art is…Art is…" She wasn't really sure what to say. What was art, really? A faint memory flickered in her mind, as she vaguely remembered asking a similar question when she was younger.

She smiled as she recalled the answer that she had been given, "Art is something unique and beautiful in its own way. It doesn't matter if it lasts a second, or forever. It's something that no matter how hard you try it can never be made again, not exactly the same…Something that's one of a kind…That's art…"

"That's a good answer, un."

"Indeed. It may be the second best answer we've ever had."

"Second best? Who's was the best?"

Deidara and Sasori both looked over at Itachi as he placed a bowl of ramen in from of her. She murmured her thanks before looking back at the other two, waiting for the answer.

Sasori slowly slid his eyes towards Itachi who was sat beside her, then looked back at her, the hint of a smile playing around his lips. She followed his gaze and it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. Itachi, commenting on art? – she wondered if they were messing with her.

"So what exactly was the 'first place' answer?" She asked, beginning to gulp down the ramen hungrily.

"If I remember correctly, it was…" Sasori started, but was interrupted.

"_Art is something that will be non-existent if you don't move out of my way,_" Itachi said, remembering his previous statement.

"Ah, I see," _He's always been so grumpy, then…_

She finished the ramen, feeling a little disappointed that it was gone so quickly, and licked her lips before looking up at Sasori, feeling his eyes on her. Deidara's blue eyes were on her too and he was smiling, as though waiting for to see the outcome of something.

"What?" She asked innocently, looking from one to the other, then back again, feeling as though she had missed something. Then she stopped, bit her lip, quietly breathed an 'oh' and turned to Itachi, smiling sweetly, "Haha," she laughed nervously, not sure what to say to the cold, red-eyed man's blank face.

_Damn bad habit, I've gone and done it again…How did I ever get into the habit of speaking my thoughts aloud in the first place?_

Itachi was about to point out to her once again that it was a _very_ bad habit and that this time he would make sure that the habit was broken, however, before he could open his mouth the smile slid from her face and she went noticeably pale.

Amaya stared blankly, not seeing Itachi in front of her anymore. That sickly bad feeling had settled in her stomach again, and she suddenly wished she hadn't eaten the ramen before hand. Then again, it probably wouldn't have made a difference, anyway.

"I…" _Want to go…_ "I don't feel so good…"_ That way, why am I drawn that way?_ "I think I'll...go lie down…" She got unsteadily to her feet and walked slowly to the door, her legs seemed to be moving on their own accord.

Deidara and Sasori watched her, slightly puzzled expressions on their faces. Shrugging, Deidara turned back to Sasori to debate about art once again.

Once outside the room Amaya moved a short way down the corridor, before leaning against the wall and putting a hand to her head. Something bad always happened when she had this feeling, and it seemed to get worse each time. She closed her eyes for a moment to try and stop the urge to be physically sick but opened them again as an image of her best friend flashed through her mind.

_Hana-chan…?_

Itachi followed her from the room and watched her silently. She was staring at the wall with an odd expression on her face. No, she wasn't staring at the wall; at something beyond it.

"That way, I have to go that way…" She whispered to herself, wishing she knew where the exit to this place was.

"Why?" Itachi asked quietly.

"I don't know. I just feel drawn that way," she replied, still gazing at something she couldn't see, "I think that's where Hana-chan is."

_You have to go to her,_ a voice in her head told her. Y_ou must._

She wanted to. If she could have she would have…_But I can't…_

Itachi thought for a moment. _If you go that way, in a straight line, it would bring you directly to Konoha…Is the other girl there? Hn, no matter. Kisame will deal with her._

* * *

Hana was panting heavily. She was bleeding badly from numerous wounds covering her body where she had been caught with Samehada and she had lost a lot of chakra. Determination still shone in her eyes though, and her plan was going well. 

_I should have enough chakra left for a couple of shots at this…_

She had managed to get the rest of the bandages off of Samehada and now she was ready. Gathering her chakra she threw a load of kunai at him to distract him for a moment while she made the hand seals.

_Kami-sama, please let this work._

A bright blue bolt of electricity spilt the sky as it shot towards the ground, cracking the hard-packed earth as it hit. Kisame laughed roughly managing to dodge, "That was quite close. I almost didn't see it coming." The edge of his cloak looked singed.

_Close, but not close enough, _Hana thought.

Trying again, she collected her chakra, performed the seals and watched as he calmly rested Samehada on his shoulder, easily dodging the lightning bolt.

_Damn it._

"That won't work, midget. That lightning won't hit me, especially now I know what you're going to do."

"I'm not aiming for you," she snarled. This was the last of her chakra, for one last lightning bolt. She formed the hand seals slowly, "Not exactly."

Kisame looked at her questioningly, "If you're not aiming at me, then what _are_ you aiming at?" He wasn't paying attention to her hands.

"Think about it. My biggest problem is your sword, but I figured out a way that I could use it to my advantage."

"You can use Samehada to your advantage?" He laughed. No one could use Samehada against him.

"It's a sword, ne? I'm not sure exactly what it's made of, but it's a metal of some sort and I was wondering, what are the chances…"

Another electric blue streak made its way down though the morning sky, towards the Akatsuki member standing below. It was a much larger stream of electricity this time and if she was getting at what he thought she was, trying to move from a lightning bolt that large would not do him much good.

"What are the chances," She continued slowly, "that it conducts electricity?"

* * *

I'm sorry that after such a long break it's a relatively short chapter, but I thought that was a good place to leave it – although I think there are a load of people who are going to shoot me for it! Feel free to review and tell me how I'd better not disappear for a whole month again, leaving it there… That would be so evil…Oh, and in the next few chapters I'm going to try and work on the 'romance' aspect of the story a bit more... 


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

Thank you all so much for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"Let me go! Let me go, I have to go to her, she's going to die! Get off me!" Amaya struggled, pulling against Itachi, but he had a firm grip on her wrist and continued to drag her back towards his room.

"Are you even listening to me? Let -," she stopped suddenly as the sickly bad feeling suddenly disappeared. The panic on her face switched to fear. Whatever bad thing that had been going to happen, had now happened. She wasn't sure which was worse - knowing something was going to happen, or that it had already happened and was now unstoppable.

Itachi stopped walking as she went stiff, looking over his shoulder at her.

She spoke after a moment, mumbling to herself, "It's gone. Why? What happened?" She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed, glinting with anger, "Let me go." Her voice was no longer pleading, but cold and sharp, almost like an order.

_If Hana-chan is dead because he wouldn't let me go to her…_

Ignoring her, he began to walk again without a word, but she refused to move.

"Uchiha, let me go."

…_if she's dead because of him I__ swear…_

Silently he pulled open the door and pushed her inside, closing it behind him. Then he turned to her. Something was different. She was no longer wary of him as she usually was, but stood watching him with something very close to hatred on her face, blue eyes cold and piercing.

"If she dies because you wouldn't let me go to her, I'll swear I'll kill you, if it's the last thing I do," she said, barely managing to stop her self from shouting at him.

"There are many who want me dead, but you are the least likely person to actually accomplish it."

"It's always the ones you least suspect."

"Hn. What would you have done if I'd let you go? How would you have been able to help?"

Amaya stared at him, "I would have thought of something! Even if it was just distracting the opponent or something, I would have done it!"

"Hn," was all he said, before moving towards the bathroom.

Amaya watched him. _Damn him and his 'hn'…It's so annoying…_

As the door clicked shut behind him she glanced from the bathroom door to the bedroom door and back again. It was a stupid idea, she knew that, but she had to get out. Not that she would manage to get through the door, because of the barrier, and even if she could she doubted she would get far before he caught her. But she couldn't stand this anymore. She wanted to get out, and away from him. All she needed was a moment alone to collect her thoughts and work out what was going on; just a moment.

Outstretched fingers stopped an inch from the door as an arm caught her around the waist.

_She can move quite fast when she wants to,_ Itachi thought as he tightened his grip a little.

Amaya let out a frustrated sigh and glared at the door.

"You know what happens if you touch that door, so why bother?" He asked.

"I'm fed up of being trapped in this room," she replied simply.

"Would you rather be in a damp little cell?"

"I'd rather be away from you."

"If you behaved yourself a little better, I might consider leaving you alone."

"Huh, like I'd be able to get out even if you weren't here. And would you also consider moving your arm?" She felt uncomfortable being so close to him.

"That depends."

"If I choose to touch the door and get shocked that's my choice."

"Why would you make that choice though?"

"Because I feel like it; why do you care?"

"I've told you before, I don't."

"Why bother asking then?"

"Because I feel like it."

Amaya sighed and laughed dryly – it was impossible to beat him. Breathing out slowly she relaxed a little and closed her eyes for a moment before speaking quietly, "Uchiha-san?"

"Hn?"

"Why do you do any of this? At the end of the day, what is it that you're working towards? Do you ever lie down at night and feel proud of what you've done? Or do you just do it because you've got yourself into something you can't get out of?"

He let go of her as he answered, "I could leave at any time."

"And?"

"And you have no need to know what we are working towards."

"I didn't mean that," she turned, but she didn't look up at him, instead staring at the floor between them, "What I really mean is…does anything ever make you…happy? I've only seen you smile a couple of times at most, and I've only ever heard you laugh once, but even then…"

He lifted her chin gently and she blinked in surprise as she found herself looking up at deep black eyes instead of red.

"Once is more than most people have ever heard. As for you, your emotions are all over the place."

"I wonder why," she jerked her head away, but he caught her chin and made her look at him.

"You won't look at me with the Sharingan and now you won't look at me without it. Why?"

"Because…your eyes don't show any emotion…they're…even when you smile, they're…cold…"

_

* * *

Cold…I feel cold…The sun's up though…It's probably because I've lost a lot of blood…Maybe these wounds are fatal after all…__It's getting dark, even though the sun's just come up. But that's probably just me too…_

With no chakra left and barely enough energy to keep her eyes open, Hana was on her knees. Dirt, thrown up when the lightning had hit the ground, mingled with blood and sweat on her face. Her hair was in her eyes and stuck to her face, too. She did nothing about it though, all her attention focused on where Kisame had been standing.

She watched as the air cleared, hoping to see him, dead, or badly injured at least, but sadly she saw neither.

"That was a pretty good idea, midget. As it turns out, Samehada does conduct electricity, but you should know better than to reveal your plans before the battle's over." He bent down to her, "Funnily enough I did exactly what you wanted and dropped it, and here I am. That's irony for you, eh? It's a shame really. I was enjoying myself. I wonder what your friend's face will be like when she hears the news of your death, hmm?"

"Go…to hell…bastard…" With all the strength she could muster she held on tightly to her last kunai and forced her tired arms to move, burying it in his chest.

_Just die already…_

His eyes widened in surprise and he grunted in pain, stumbling backwards.

"Don't assume…that someone's dead…before they actually are," she panted.

Hana watched as he pulled out the kunai with a smirk, "Almost, but you missed my heart and it's not really that deep, thanks to my cloak. I'll live, midget, but you won't. You're as good as dead," and he threw the kunai back towards her, to land in the dirt by her knees, "Good bye, Hana."

With that he picked up Samehada and strapped it onto his back before disappearing into the trees without another glance at her. Hana sat there for a moment before forcing herself to her feet. Gritting her teeth against the pain she began to walk very slowly and unsteadily back towards the village.

_He never learns.__ Baka, assuming I'm dead…I won't give up that easily…I refuse to…to give up…I refuse…I have to…rescue Amaya-chan..._

She looked up at the sky, blinking away the black that seemed to be closing in around everything. It was a clear blue expanse, not a cloud in sight. The edges were still tinged with vibrant oranges and reds form the rising sun, which was spreading its warm rays across the village.

The warmth didn't reach her, though.

_I__t's so dark…so cold…I'm so tired…just a bit further, though…then Sakura can heal…she can heal me or…Tsunade…they have the best…healers here…I'll live…and save… you…I promise…_

_Amaya…  
__

* * *

_

"Emotions are a weakness. They interfere with missions and can get you killed," Itachi said. 

"But you're not on a mission right now," Amaya pointed out.

The hand he had been holding her chin with moved, and he brushed his fingers against her cheek, "I guess not."

She blinked at him, a light blush covering her cheeks at the small but gentle gesture. He then walked past her and opened his draws, taking something out and throwing it to her. She caught it and held it gingerly, careful not to cut herself, "What's this?"

"A kunai," he replied.

"I can see that much, but why?"

"We will be moving soon and will undoubtedly run into trouble."

"So, you're giving me this so I can defend myself?"

He nodded.

"What's to say that I won't attack you with it?"

"Nothing, but you wouldn't be able to make a mark on me, even if you did."

_I guess that's true…_ "Are you going to teach me how to use it?"

"We do not have time."

_Great idea,__ Ice-cube-san, giving me a weapon that I don't know how to use...Pure genius! _She thought sarcastically.

She looked down at the weapon in her hands. It was the same size and shape as any of the kunai she had seen before, but it had lightning bolts engraved down the centre on both sides, right to the sharp point. The metal seemed to have jet black flecks in it, which was unusual, too, but it was the blood-red ribbon which was tied through the hole at the end that made her give him questioning look. It was the same as the one in her hair.

Just then there was a loud knock on the door, which opened to reveal Deidara.

"Kisame just got back, un."

Itachi nodded, and handed a full kunai pouch and shuriken holder to her, before turning back to a surprised looking Deidara and leaving the room.

Amaya looked at the equipment, torn between putting it on and going after Itachi.

"Here, un," Deidara said, showing her how it was done quickly. She blushed lightly as he fixed the shuriken holder to her leg, but she was too eager to see Hana-chan again to make a comment on it.

She followed him to the door, and when he didn't stop her she walked behind him silently, resisting the urge to push past him and run.

The door to the kitchen was open, and she listened, waiting to hear her friend's voice. She was almost there, when she stopped.

Everything stopped.

Her heart skipped a beat before plummeting.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her head rang with Kisame's words.

"The midget is dead."

_No. _

_No, no, no, no, no, Hana-chan can't be dead. She can't be! She can't, no, he must be lying, he has to be, there's no way, no way that she'd be dead, not Hana-chan…_

"You're certain she's dead?" Itachi questioned.

"I made sure of it."

_He…made sure of it…He killed her? He did it? It was him?!_

Deidara's eyes widened as she ran the last few steps to the door, drew a kunai and threw in the direction of the shark-man, so fast that his eyes hardly caught any of it.

Kisame himself barely managed to move in time, and he stared at the kunai buried a deep way into the table as though it were something from out of space. He then glanced at Itachi before finally looking at her.

A tear rolled down her cheek as blue chakra glowed around her. Her eyes seemed to take on the same bright blue colour and burned with anger, hatred, pain as she tried to form words that would express how she was feeling; how much she hated him; how much she wanted to kill him.

"You…You…Bastard…I don't believe…You…" She shook her head. There weren't any words that fitted. There just weren't word for the kind of emotions whirling around inside her at that moment. There was no way that words could possible express such strong emotions and do them justice. So she drew another kunai instead.

She took a step to move towards him, but Deidara caught her by the arm. That didn't stop her though.

"Go to hell!" She shouted as the second kunai left her hand as fast as the first on had; but this time it was easily caught.

"I would suggest you do not try throwing another," Itachi said dangerously.

"Shut up, this doesn't involve you," she snapped at him, and pulled another one free, "Only him."

The weapon was about the leave her hand when Sasori appeared beside her, laying a hand gently on her arm, "Would your friend wish for you to lose your life like this?" He asked quietly, trying a different approach to stopping her.

She turned her head slowly, silently.

"What would _you_ know…about what _she_ would want?" She said, her voice venomous as she jerked her arm away from him, tearing away from Deidara too, and launching herself at Kisame.

He moved from his chair, narrowly missing being hit by another kunai, to find that she was already in front of him.

_Where did this speed come from? Suddenly she remembers how to use chakra?_ He thought, as he blocked her attack with Samehada.

She disappeared from in front of him, appearing behind, her movements a blur.

There was another blur though, a black one that even she didn't see coming.

The breath was driven from her lungs as her back collided with the wall. She coughed, finding it hard to breathe before realising that there was a hand around her throat, pinning her to the wall, her feet barely touching the ground.

"I have warned you before about speaking to me like that," Itachi said, his voice low and quiet, but deadly. Usually it would have made her want to apologise and get away as quickly as possible. But this wasn't usually.

"Oh and how would you expect me to speak to you? I've just found out that my best friend is dead, her killer is sitting over there, calm as you like, telling you about it over a bottle of sake and you expect me to speak to nice and politely?! Let me tell you, Uchiha, it hurts when you lose someone close to you, the only person you have, the only person who's never tried to kill you or wanted you dead, but I wouldn't expect _you_ to know about that, seeing as _you_ cold heartedly murdered the whole of your own clan!"

Sharingan eyes whirled angrily, and her eyes widened as the three tomoe in his eyes merged into a pinwheel-like shape.

"Never speak about that." He leaned closer, "Ever."

* * *

...Gasp...Review if you want more! (Oh, and sorry if there are lots of mistakes. I checked through it a dozen times but i'm so tired right now there's a good chance that i've missed some...) 


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: I do no own Naruto..._

All I can say is wow, and thank you to everyone who reviewed! This chapter took so long because I wrote three or four different versions of what happened (Itachi uses mangekyou, Itachi doesn't use mangekyou, Hana lives, Hana-dies...) and finally decided on the version below...

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Bright blue eyes glared daggers at the Uchiha pinning her to the wall, meeting his dangerous mangekyou sharingan without even a trace of fear on her pretty features.

"Or what?" She asked, her voice as cold as his, "You'll kill me?"

"No. I'll put you through something worse than death."

"Well, I suppose I won't do it again then. Now, if you don't mind, I was in the middle of a fight with fish face over there," she replied calmly, glancing over his shoulder at Kisame, while pulling his hand away from her throat with one hand, and throwing a dozen shuriken at the shark man with the other.

Moving swiftly away from Itachi she jumped over the table and ran after Kisame, who had disappeared through the kitchen door. Sasori and Deidara, who were stood on either side of the door, shared a glance as Itachi followed the girl through.

"Don't run away from me, you bastard," Amaya shouted, pelting down the corridor after Kisame, though he had already disappeared from view. When she reached the end she glanced both ways.

"Kuso…" she cursed under her breath.

_Which way did he go?__ Left or right?_

Her eyes widened momentarily and she jumped to the left. _Damn, too slow…_ She cursed again, reaching over her shoulder to pull out the shuriken that had buried itself into her left shoulder. Peering round the corner she threw it back at Itachi, narrowly missing his head.

"Stay out of this, Uchiha!"

"You should be careful, shouting at him like that," Kisame laughed behind her, "He's already warned you a number of times."

She jumped, dodging his sword and landed lightly. Gathering chakra in her feet she prepared to run at him again. Another kunai found its way into her hand and she started to move.

She didn't have the time to move very far, though, except to turn slightly so that she could see Itachi coming towards her. He caught her by the throat and pinned her against the wall again. Then his eyes widened slightly as cold metal buried its way into his flesh, followed by a chakra filled kick, which very nearly broke his arm as he blocked. She slapped an exploding tag, that she had found among the kunai, to the ceiling and turned her attention back to Kisame.

"Stop running like a little girl and fight me yourself, you damn fish!" She shouted as the ceiling tumbled down on top of the Uchiha behind her.

"If that's really what you want…" Kisame grinned, and swung Samehada at her. She blocked and let out a cry of surprise as she felt the chakra being drained from her.

Jumping away she didn't see the kunai that he had thrown, but she felt them as they hit her. She stumbled and fell backwards to find Kisame already behind her. Knocking her to the ground her lent over her and held her down with Samehada pressing against her, sucking in her chakra.

She struggled and tired to force him off of her but she could feel the strength being drawn out of her.

_No, I can't let him win. I have to beat him, for Hana-chan. I have to. _

Her eyes closed and a tear rolled to the ground beneath her.

_But I've lost…_

She was about to give up when the voice in her head chose that moment to speak up again.

_No, you haven't lost, you're still here. You can still fight. For her, for Hana. You still have chakra that you can use. Don't give up, isn't that what she used to say? Amaya, get up. Get up._

Amaya smiled, remembering her friends words.

_Yes, that's right. I can't give up._

Her eyes flew open, burning with a new determination. Gritting her teeth she took hold of Samehada with her bare hands and pushed upwards. Kisame's eyes widened as her strength suddenly rivalled his own.

She managed to force him off her enough so that she could move. She got slowly to her feet as he backed away, that bloodthirsty shark-like smile on his face again. Her hands had been cut by Samehada and now hung at her sides, two pools of deep red blood forming on the ground at her feet.

Her eyes fixed on him and her chakra changed, swirling around her as though it was out of control. He stared, wondering how she still had so much left after having contact with Samehada for so long. He didn't have long to think about it though, as she came at him much faster than before. He had to admit, her speed was quite impressive.

When she stopped for a second, breathing hard after attacking him relentlessly, he caught her arm with his sword, leaving a deep gash. She ignored it and was about to move again when she turned, her eyes widening as a fist came into contact with her stomach, sending her flying back into the wall with a cry of surprise mixed pain.

Bits of rubble and dust fell around her as she coughed and tried to catch her breath. Looking up she glared at Itachi, stood above her, and pushed herself back onto her feet. She balanced herself unsteadily against what was left of the wall and wiped a trickle of blood from her chin.

"Just let me…" Taking a step forwards she made to move towards Kisame but Itachi held out an arm to stop her.

"You cannot win."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"There is no use fighting a battle that you know you cannot win."

"I know that too. But I still want to…I still want to avenge Hana…I want…" Tears started to form in her eyes. She took a step away from him.

_I want to kill him. I want to kill. I'd be a murderer then…Hana-chan wouldn't want that. What am I doing here? What am I…_

Her eyes widened with horror, "Don't…Don't follow me," she said as she turned.

Focusing chakra to her feet she disappeared down the corridor as fast as she could, leaving only a sparkling tear in her wake, the two men watching silently.

They didn't follow.

* * *

"We believe she fought with a member of Akatsuki. When Sakura found her, she managed to tell us his name, but nothing else. Hoshigaki Kisame, from Kirigakure," Tsunade explained to the ninja assembled in her office. 

"You want us to rescue her friend?" Shikamaru asked, looking to the ceiling as though searching for a way to get out of something so troublesome.

"Exactly! Jiraiya has recently been able to find out the rough location of a base not far from another that was recently destroyed by ANBU from Iwagakure. Even if she isn't there, there may be a clue as to where she has been taken. This mission is to find her and rescue her if you can. I don't want to lose anyone in unnecessary fights, so avoid getting any closer than you have to."

"Hai, hai…" The Chuunin replied, "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. I'd like to send some Jounin, really, but they're currently all on missions. Backup will be sent as soon I can arrange it. Spend tonight choosing your team. Don't let Naruto know what your mission is though. It would be too dangerous if he went along."

"But it's Akatsuki! If they have an innocent girl captive, then we have to save her! And Hana-san fought one of the Akatsuki without damaging a single building or person. We should at least save her friend for her. Let me go, Tsunade-baachan."

"Naruto!" Tsunade shouted as she thumped the table and glared at the blonde boy who had burst in through the door, "She will be saved, that's what this mission is for. And yes, it's Akatsuki and that is exactly why you can't go. I understand that you want to save her friend for her, her lost friend, taken by the enemy," her voice softened slightly, "like Sasuke, but I forbid you from going, Naruto."

He opened his mouth to argue but she held up a hand to stop him.

"You're not going and that is final."

* * *

Amaya shivered in the cold night air, hugging her knees close to her chest. Laying her head back slightly she looked up at the sky. It was clear again, the stars twinkling the same way that they always did, so far above her world which had changed so much recently. 

She sighed and rested her head on her knees. She stayed like that, even when she heard the light thump of someone landing lightly beside her.

After what felt like hours, Amaya took a deep breath and sat up straight, uncurling herself slightly, but still not looking at the man who was now sat beside her.

"To think that just over a week ago I was at home. I was safe and happy and Hana-chan was alive, but now…Now I'm sat on the roof of the hideout of a bunch of criminals and I don't even know how I got up here. Earlier on I was so upset and angry that I don't even know what I was doing, or how I did it, but somehow I feel as though that's what I really am. It's like everything I've forgotten is slowly coming back and I'm not sure I want it to. The nightmare…It's a memory, isn't it? It's too real to just be a nightmare. You've known that since I told you about it, and I want to know how. How did you know?"

"You will find that you and your friend are well known in the ninja world."

"Like you? I expect everyone knows your name. I don't know where it came from but is it true? You…murdered your clan…your family…?"

"Yes."

"With those eyes?" She sighed, "I was so caught up in my emotions earlier that I didn't even realise how close I was to having you use them on me. I guess you're right. Emotions can get you killed."

"They can get you killed, but you need them to live."

Amaya smiled slightly and turned her head to face him.

"How are your wounds?" She asked.

"I am fine. I see you are too?"

She shrugged, "I heal fast, and even faster recently...I-I didn't really mean to stab you, it was just in my hand and-."

"We both know that's a lie," he interrupted, his dark eyes moving from the sky to her face.

She nodded slowly and bit her lip, "Uchiha-san, who am I? Who am I really? I've been thinking and those kunai and shuriken, the ribbon…they're mine, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Why do you, of all people, have them?"

"You will remember that soon enough."

"And the mystery person in my dream? Will you tell me who that is?"

"You'll remember that too."

She was silent for a moment before looking away from him.

"Will you tell me anything?"

"…You look a mess."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked back at him questioningly.

"Anything," he shrugged.

A smile broke out on her face and she ran her fingers through her hair, noticing that it was loose again.

"You'll lose it if you're not careful," Itachi said as he dangled the blood-red ribbon in front of her.

She took it from him with a thankful smile and tied it around her wrist instead, "It's probably safer like that."

"You never really used to use it for your hair, anyway," Itachi said, getting to his feet, "Don't stay up here all night," and with that he casually jumped the long distance to the ground below, landing easily.

"Wait, what does that mean? I never used to? How do you know? Uchiha-san?" She peered over the edge and watched him go in through the door, leaving her outside and alone.

She shivered again.

"How do I get down?"

* * *

Sorry it's so short again, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as the last chapter. Feel free to give me as many reviews as last time... 


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own Amaya, Hana and this amazing plot...Yeah..._

Here we go! All my exams have started now (Ahh!!) and I had my prom on Friday (it was truly amazing...) so I've been a bit busy lately and will continue to be, but i'll still try to do my best to update when I can.

As always, thanks for the wonderful reviews! Enjoy...

* * *

**Chapter 16  
**  
The sun began to rise two days later, casting its soft, warm rays of pale orange light over the trees. Thin slivers of gold slipped between the leaves to the leaf covered ground below and onto the heads of five ninja, jumping silently through the foliage. 

"We should reach the base in an hour or so. There may still be some Akatsuki about, so keep your wits about you," Shikamaru said to his team.

Sakura and Neji nodded silently.

"H-hai," Hinata replied.

"Hai, hai," Kiba replied as Akamaru let out a bark, "Huh? There are the scents of two people around here, they keep going this way, but they're also over that way. And Akamaru also thinks he smells blood, but he can't be sure from this distance."

They all paused, balancing on branches for a moment. Shikamaru sighed, "How far is it?"

"Not far, about ten minutes away," Kiba replied after more yaps from his dog.

"Perhaps we should split up and meet at the base?" Sakura suggested, but Shikamaru shook his head.

"Tsunade said to stay together unless we need to send someone back or something. I suppose we should check it out…" The others nodded and began to follow Kiba and Akamaru.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered to himself before following. The scent of blood was never good.

Ten minutes later they were stood amongst the trees. Neji and Hinata gazed around with their byakugan, looking for any clues of who had been there. Sakura picked up a leaf from the ground, and turned it over.

"This looks like blood, but it's only a few drops. Whoever it was couldn't have been that badly injured."

"There are two more scents here. One of them is Hana-san. I'm guessing the other is Amaya-san," Kiba explained.

"I-I think I s-see s-something," Hinata piped up. Neji swung his gaze in the same direction as his cousin.

"I see it," he said, and moved through the trees swiftly, returning with a long, black ribbon in his hand.

"It's a hair ribbon. It must have belonged to either Hana or Amaya-san," Sakura said, taking it from him for a closer look, "That means they definitely came this way."

"This trail is fresher, too," Kiba added.

Shikamaru nodded, "We'll carry on going this way, then."

* * *

It was well into the afternoon, when the sun was arcing back through the sky towards the earth, giving way to the moon, that Kiba and Akamaru both smelt blood again. This time however, there was much more of it. 

It wasn't long before the stench of it was so strong they could all smell it quite clearly. When they stumbled across a clearing filled with the dead and decomposing bodies of giant snakes the smell was overpowering and the sight was sickening.

Sakura gagged on the smell that filled her nostrils, "What happened here? It couldn't be…These snakes…"

"Orochimaru," Neji finished.

Sakura's eyes brightened slightly. If Orochimaru was involved in this, then there was a chance that she would find Sasuke. Then her eyes saddened.

_What good would it do? Even if we did bump into him, he still wouldn't come back with us…_

She was torn from her thoughts of her former team-mate by a call from Kiba.

"You guys, there's a whole lot of blood over here and it isn't from one of those snakes. It has the same scent as the blood from before."

The others crowded around the large patch of dried blood on the ground, the leaves dyed a deep reddish-brown by the amount that had soaked into them.

"There are four scents here, the two Akatsuki's, Hana-san and what we assume as Amaya-san again…But Hana-san's disappears here. There's the stink of one of those snakes here, too and…Kabuto."

"Hana said that she was kidnapped by Orochimaru, this must be where she was taken from," Sakura said, "But she didn't mention anything about getting badly injured."

"Meaning that this is Amaya-san's blood?" Neji asked, though it wasn't really a question, "Sakura, could someone live after losing that much blood?"

"It's hard to tell exactly how much there was here as some of it has soaked into the ground and it's all dried up, obviously, but I'd say that unless she got help pretty quickly there's only a slim chance that she would have survived."

"Akatsuki are an organisation of the strongest, fastest criminals. It's likely that she was seen to fast, though that depends on how valuable to them she is," Neji replied.

Kiba nodded, "Her scent gets mingled with one of the Akatsuki's here, and heads off that way," He said, pointing, "But the other one goes in the same direction as the snake."

"Seeing as Hoshigaki Kisame was the one Hana-san fought, it would make sense that he would chase after her if she was taken by Orochimaru. It seems he followed her all the way to Konoha. Providing he was travelling with his usual companion, then we can assume that the other Akatsuki scent belongs to…"

"Uchiha Itachi," Sakura spat, interrupting Shikamaru's deductions.

He was the man that had ruined Sasuke's life; the man that was after her best friend; the man that was the cause of everything. Determination set it. If he had this girl, Sakura would save her. She would not let him destroy any more lives, not if she could help it. She felt that if she could save one life, maybe there was a chance that she could save Sasuke's too.

* * *

Amaya trudged through the sand, the wind whipping at her, the straw hat on her head pulled down to keep the sand out of her eyes. On her right was Deidara, with Sasori shuffling along next to him, inside his puppet. On her left was Itachi, purposefully stood between her and Kisame. 

She looked over at the shark-man as he grinned down at her. In return she glared at him dangerously but caught the warning glance from Itachi and returned her gaze to the sand beneath her feet.

They were headed to yet another base, making her wonder how many they actually had. She supposed it stood to reason that they'd have plenty of them in case one was discovered then they'd have somewhere else to go.

_I wonder if they have a 'main' base, like headquarters or somethin__g. Perhaps that's where their leader is. They must have a leader of some sort…all these guys just working together without someone ordering them around seems unlikely. I wonder what they're trying to do though…and what do they want with me? If I could just remember some more, something more helpful, something special about me, then at least I'd know why I'm here. Stupid dreams, they just confuse me and they never tell me anything apart from the fact that I probably should have died, but I'm still here and somehow survived…Come to think of it, I've always healed quite fast, though probably not fast enough to survive that..._

A strong gust of wind whipped the straw hat from her head before she could catch it, throwing sand into her eyes and causing her to let out a yelp.

_Ugh, damn it, I hate sand…_

She stopped walking and shielded her face with one hand and began to rub at her eyes with the other, but a hand caught her wrist.

"You'll make them sore," and the straw hat was placed on her head again.

She looked up with watering eyes at the Uchiha and nodded.

"Arigatou," she said, pulling the hat down to shield her eyes again before they started walking again. The others hadn't stopped which meant that she now found herself walking silently beside him.

She glanced at him from underneath the edge of the hat and studied his face for a moment.

Last night, after finally managing to get her self down from the roof, in a rather undignified manner that thankfully no one was there to see, she had slept peacefully and for the first time in many nights she had had a different dream. This time it was a happy memory. At least, she thought it was.

_Was it really him, though? It could have been anyone, I suppose, but I'm sure…_

He felt her eyes on him, and looked down at her, his cold red eyes the same as always. Amaya looked away quickly.

_Who am I kidding? He wouldn't have said anything like that. Then again, I suppose people change over time. Maybe it _was _him?_

"I had a dream again last night," she started, wondering if it would be worth the effort, "but it was different this time. It was a sunny day like this. I was stood on the same cliff as in the other dream, but I was there because I wanted to be there. I was watching the waves below, listening to the birds and I started singing. I can't really remember how the song went, but it was-."

"Too sad for such a bright day."

She looked up at him, a smile breaking out on her face, and she had to hold onto the hat as the wind blew again, "It _was_ you. So we've met before?"

He nodded, "Briefly."

_Only briefly? _

_Why does it feel like it was more than that?_

She turned, looking back in the direction that they had come.

"Keep up," Itachi said.

"Um," she nodded.

_Someone's following us…_

* * *

They stopped out in the desert. Amaya stood on top of a large sand dune and gazed around; the others were sat at the bottom. The breeze had died down so she could finally take the hat off without worrying about getting sand in her eyes. 

Deidara and Kisame were talking, with the occasional murmur from Sasori, who was out of his puppet again. Itachi was sat with them, only half listening.

_How much has she remembered? _He thought, his gaze lingering on her, _It was only brief…Far too short…_

He blinked, looking away from her. The conversation from the others had died as they felt it too.

"We're being followed, it seems," Sasori said quietly as he climbed calmly back into his puppet.

Itachi got to his feet. Amaya would have to come down from there before she was spotted. Jumping up to the top he opened his mouth to speak but stopped. Her eyes were closed and he could feel her chakra. It was such a tiny amount but he wondered how he hadn't sensed it earlier. It was like that time in the forest when she sensed the snakes, but it was almost as if she'd refined it; it seemed more controlled this time.

He could see the concentration on her pretty face.

"I can hear them. It's quite strange, really, but I can hear them, as though I was right there," she said quietly, before opening her eyes, "There's a village that way," she pointed directly towards Suna, "But there aren't many people still awake. And that way," she turned, pointing towards their destination, "There is a man with a foul mouth, but I can't hear him very well…"

"We're still a day away," he was watching her carefully. The foul mouthed man was probably Hidan, "How far can you hear?"

"I'm not sure. Everything gets quieter the further away it is, so I guess a day or so away is about it."

"Be careful. Ninja can travel silently when need be. Someone might sense your chakra before you hear them."

Amaya smiled, "I'd hear them. I've realised I can hear more than the sounds of their feet on the sand, or their voices. I could hear your heart, their hearts, every breath they took." She glanced past him down at Sasori, "Something's different about him?"

It wasn't so much of a question as a statement.

"And you…What were you thinking about?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, "Why?"

"You're heartbeat changed slightly…"

"That's none of your business. Go down there and go to sleep," he said bluntly, pointing down to where the others were as he started to move in the opposite direction.

She caught his arm, "Are you going to fight them? They haven't done anything."

"I do not fight needlessly," he replied.

Still holding his arm she made herself look him in the eye, "You said it was only brief but…was it…" she searched for the right words, not quite sure how to put it, "Special?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, looking into those soft blue eyes. For a moment he let the Sharingan go, knowing that looking into red eyes made her uncomfortable. A small smile crept onto her lips and she looked into those dark, captivating eyes.

"Yes," he said quickly, before turning the Sharingan on again and disappearing from in front of her.

She stared at nothing. Suddenly something clicked into place.

_When I __was falling from the cliff that was him! That was him calling out to me. He was there! It was him..._

…_It was him… _

* * *

Oo, well then, what do you all make of that? Anyone see it coming? I wonder what history they have?

And is Hana alive or not? You'll notice that I still haven't made it clear...Actually, i haven't really decided...I have a storyline that goes either way...Hmm... 

Just a note: I've very tired so if there are typos and mistakes i've missed, sorry...


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

Yes, believe it or not, here is another chapter already, and a long one at that... In fact, it's really rather long, so I hope it's not boring...I just got writing and I guess I was in the mood for it... I probably should have been doing revision instead, but there you go...

As ever, thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, and also to the people who read but don't review...

Just a note: Anything between these '--' is a memory, but because I already have all the thoughts and stuff in _italics_ I did it like this so that you guys can tell the difference...You'll see what I mean, I just hope it's not too confusing...

And without further ado...

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Sasuke jumped calmly through the trees, behind the Konoha ninja, heading in the direction of the Sand. He wasn't following, of course, they just happened to be travelling in the same direction as he was.

It was slightly strange, seeing those people he had once known, but now they were all like strangers to him. One pink haired member of the team caught his eye. Memories of team 7 training together, fighting, completing missions together flashed through his mind. Was that that same Sakura he had known back then? She'd always been the weakest out of the three of them, useless in almost every situation. She'd always been bright, with a good memory and perfect chakra control, but even when she'd tried to protect him and Naruto during the chuunin exams, she had had to be rescued.

He found himself watching her as she appeared occasionally through the trees in front of him. Why was he having all these thoughts now? They'd come to Orochimaru's hideout only a few days ago and not even a thought of how things used to be had crossed his mind, yet now he couldn't seem to stop.

It was then that he decided that when he found his brother he would kill him, as he had always sworn, and then he would go back, if they would take him; he wouldn't have any reason to stay with Orochimaru afterwards and he didn't much like the snake sannin, anyway. Sasuke was sure it would be a lot more difficult to gain back Sakura's trust than anyone else's, but Naruto would take him back without a moments hesitation - he was a fool who would always forgive him, simply for those stupid bonds of his.

But why was it that he couldn't forget about those stupid bonds either? He tried, doing everything he could to stop himself thinking about them, but when he lied down at night, or had a spare moment to himself they would come creeping back into his mind.

He shook his head and stared to devise a way that he might be able to use the team from Konoha so that he could fight his brother without interruptions; so that he could kill him without anyone getting in the way; so he could have his revenge.

No one would get in his way.

* * *

Amaya sat watching Itachi, laying on his back, hands behind is head with his eyes closed. After returning earlier he'd informed the others that there was just five Konoha ninja who, of course, wouldn't be a problem. 

More of her memory seemed to be returning and, if it served her correctly, Konoha was Itachi's village, which made her wonder if he would hesitate to kill them. Then again, he had murdered his whole family save for his little brother…She somehow doubted that them being from Konoha would make a difference.

Deidara and Sasori had some business in Suna, it seemed, and Kisame had gone along to get something to eat. When she'd asked why they didn't just spend the night there, Itachi had replied that he preferred the open air.

And so she found herself left alone with him again. She was beginning to wonder if it was fate's strange way of making her talk to him. She stubbornly refused, however, and closed her eyes, trying to sleep, but to no avail. It wasn't that she was particularly uncomfortable, or that the silence and open air made her feel vulnerable; she simply couldn't sleep.

Looking over at Itachi again she closed her eyes and reached out with her chakra. The steady beating of his heart told her that he was asleep – well, as close to it as he got, anyway. It was relaxing and hypnotic, in a way, and she found herself crawling closer to him.

She looked down at his relaxed face. He didn't look so stern or dangerous lying there.

_He really is quite handsome…When he was younger__ in my dream he was quite good looking, but even more so now…_

Caught up in her memories and the sound of his heart she leaned forwards. She reached out to brush a stray strand of his jet black hair from his pale face. Her hand was a mere centimetre from him when his eyes shot open, glowing red, and he caught her wrist tightly, rolling her underneath him and easily pinning her to the sand.

Amaya gasped, her chakra disappearing with surprise, and pressed her free hand against his chest in defence. He froze then, realising that it was just her, but did not release her.

"What were you doing?" He asked quietly, his face only an inch or so from hers, his hair tickling her face.

"I…I…Sorry," she whispered back, not completely sure herself.

"You'll get yourself killed," he replied.

It almost sounded like he was warning her to be careful again. He seemed to do that a lot lately and she was beginning to think that maybe he did care, even if only a little, about her well being. Perhaps it was because of whatever 'special' past they had together, or there was even the chance that they were new feelings, but she couldn't believe that he would treat any other prisoner this way.

Or it could simply be because they had a use for her.

"Amaya?"

She blinked, "Huh?" _Why does he just call me 'Amaya'? There's no 'san' or anything…_

"I asked, 'what are you thinking about'?" He repeated.

"Nothing," she replied quickly, waiting for him to let go of her; but he didn't.

"Ano, Itachi-san-," she started, but stopped. _When did I start calling him _'Itachi_-san?'_

"Hnnn?" He murmured lazily. Amaya blinked at him; in some strange way it made her think of a cat purring.

_How odd._

"Uchiha-san, could you let me go please?" She asked politely, not liking the way he made her comfortably warmer than she had been before – more specifically, not liking the way that she _liked_ how he made her comfortably warmer.

After a moment he let go of her, and moved to sit beside her. Sitting up she looked sideways at him before shuffling a short way away and facing the opposite direction so that he wouldn't see the blush on her cheeks.

_Why am I blushing? Why is my heart beating so fast?__ Why does he always have to get so close?_

She was glad for the cool night air on her cheeks and busied herself with brushing the sand out of her hair with her fingers, so that she didn't have to look at him.

_He's a murdering kidnapper. There's no way he can make me blush and there's no way I have feelings for him. I don't care what past we had together, I hate him. __I do, I do…_

She tried almost desperately to convince herself, but she couldn't deny the facts.

_I…__I…I don't… I should but I don't…Why don't I hate him?!_

It made her angry that she didn't hate him or wasn't as scared of him as she undoubtedly should have been, even after everything he had done, and that made he get to her feet and stomp a few paces further away. But as she did so, she thought of her dream and how he had called out her name, they first time they met he'd told her how beautiful her voice was, how he'd carried her when she was injured by the snake, his almost gentleness…With these thoughts she found that her anger disappeared and left her with nothing but utter confusion over her own feelings.

With a sigh she plonked herself back down, legs crossed, elbows resting on her knees and her head in her hands.

_Damn it, why is it so difficult to hate him?_

_I suppose he has saved my life a couple of times, but I wouldn't have been in those dangerous situations if it wasn't for him and fish-face kidnapping us in the first place. __He's never hurt me though, except for when we were fighting…He could have killed me, but then again they only want me alive for whatever use I am, so that part doesn't count. _

_And Hana-chan is gone because of them…I know it was really Hoshigaki-san but I can't forgive either of them… Oh how I wish she was here… Whenever I was confused she'd always be there to say something in her own funny little way, but somehow it would make sense and solve everything… She could always put a smile back on my face, no matter what… But now she's not here… Right now, when I really need her and she can't be here because they took her away… and I don't know what to do about anything…I feel so…Lost…_

_Hana-chan…Help me…_

"I never did like to see you cry," Itachi said as he crouched in front of her and softly wiped a lone tear from her cheek, "A smile suits you better."

Amaya's eyes narrowed and she slapped his hand away.

"What are _you_ doing? Can't I just have a moment alone to decide weather I hate you or not? I can't even remember much about the 'brief' time we once knew each other but I still have all these feelings whirling around inside of me and I don't understand any of them!"

_And there's this weird feeling, _she continued to herself silently, not willing to discuss it in any more depth with him, _this weird feeling that somehow I can't even put a name to. It's like a bubbly feeling that feels like it's going to burst out my chest, and I don't even know if it's something to be happy about or cry about! All I know is it's there whenever I -. _Her thought trail came to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening with something reminiscent of horror, as a thought suddenly occurred

Itachi gave her a questioning look but she shook her head.

"I just need some time alone to think," she mumbled and got to her feet, making her way slowly to the top of the large sand dune and sitting atop it.

_That feeling's there whenever I look at him…_

_Kami-sama…Please, don't tell me…Don't tell me I loved him…_

Unbidden tears found their way to her eyes again.

_No, how could I have loved him? We were so young; maybe it was just more of a childish crush? _

_**Childish crush, indeed! S**__**o much so that you still have all these feelings for him? **_

She jumped at the sound of the strange, but somehow familiar, voice resounding inside her head.

_What?! What was that?_

Waiting she tried to still her thoughts in case the voice spoke again.

_Uh, hello? _

She felt stupid waiting for a reply from inside her own mind. Thankfully there was no reply.

_Great, now I'm hearing voices…I don't believe I talked back to it…I think I've finally lost it. I've seriously lost my mind. I don't believe it…They broke me…_

Then she blinked, sitting up straight, remembering.

_But... that wasn't the first time?_

_When we were falling from Deidara-san's bird…_

--You'll be fine.

_The thought floated through her mind and she suddenly felt…calm. Then confusion settled in as to why she was suddenly so sure of their safety. Even though it was her own mind, she could find no reason why she had thought that._--

_That was the same voice?! Why didn't I realise it was different to my own? And when Hana-chan was in trouble…_

--You have to go to her, _a voice in her head told her_. You must.--

_When I was fighting, too, I remember thinking that I'd lost, I was about to give up, but…_

--No, you haven't lost, you're still here. You can still fight. For her, for Hana. You still have chakra that you can use. Don't give up, isn't that what she used to say? Amaya, get up. Get up.--

_It reassured me, encouraged __me…I've been hearing voices for days and I didn't even realise it!_

She began to panic a little.

_What do I do?  
_

_

* * *

_As day broke out across the Land of Wind, the Konoha ninja started moving again, still following the scents across the sand, picked up by Akamaru and Kiba. 

"We're getting closer, I can smell them," Kiba said as they descended another smooth sand hill, "They're not far away now."

"Byakugan," Neji muttered, putting his hands together. The veins on his face stood out as he gazed around through the sand with his white eyes. Hinata followed suit, facing in the opposite direction.

"Found them," Neji said, pointing in a slightly different direction to that which they had been traveling up this point.

"T-there's only t-two p-people there," Hinata replied, following her cousin's gaze, worry evident in her voice and on her face.

"There are five scents here," Kiba insisted, Akamaru barking in agreement, "Which means that the other three are somewhere else."

"Can you see them anywhere?" Sakura asked Neji and Hinata.

They both shook their heads.

"Well, if three of them have gone missing it's better for us, unless Amaya-san's with them," Shikamaru said, leaning back in the sand and glancing at the clear blue sky above them, wishing there were some clouds that he could just sit back and watch.

"There's one Akatsuki, sitting and someone laying down; I think it's a girl. It must be her," Neji explained.

"Who's the Akatsuki?" Kiba asked.

"I can't tell from here," was the reply. Hinata couldn't quite make out the figure either.

"Never mind, whoever it is, if Amaya-san is there I suppose we should keep going," Shikamaru sighed, getting unenthusiastically to his feet.

As he did so though, he sensed a familiar chakra. It was clear that the others did too, by they way they all stiffened before their gazes moved slowly to Sakura, whos eyes were wide.

"Our m-mission is our f-first p-priority, Sakura-c-chan," Hinata said quietly, laying a hand gently on her friends arm.

Sakura's face quickly hardened and she nodded, "I know."

Shikamaru sighed again as they started moving. He would have much preferred to just to sleep and enjoy the nice whether.

* * *

Sasuke listened to the Leaf-nin's conversation. It didn't matter that they had sensed him. 

He was so close now, but what if the Akatsuki member wasn't Itachi? What if he wasn't even there?

_Then I'll just have to carry on hunting him until I find him._

Determination shone in his dark eyes as he watched the Konoha ninja below him begin to move again. This time nothing could stop him. He was much stronger than he had been before. This time he would win.

Channeling a small amount of chakra to his feet he began to move in a slightly different direction to the others. He intended to loop around behind the Akatsuki member and whoever this girl was, while the others would come at them from the opposite direction.

He couldn't help but wonder what Shikamaru's plan was though. Clearly their mission was to save this girl they were on about, but how did they intend to steal a girl from under the nose of an Akatsuki member?

* * *

Naruto grinned to himself, glad that his friends were finally in sight; he'd had to travel fast to catch up to them, but with his stamina that hadn't been a problem. 

He knew that he shouldn't really have been there, especially since Akatsuki were involved, but he had finally managed to persuade Tsunade to let him go and help. Well, not so much 'persuade' as 'pestered' until she could stand it no more.

Though, of course, he did have his reasons for being there, but suddenly he found himself with one more.

His attention was distracted as he caught a glimpse of dark hair, the blue tint made more evident as it caught the sun; that familiar chakra; those clothes. There was no mistaking it.

"Sasuke?"

Naruto wanted nothing more than to run after him and have another go at beating some sense into that revenge-filled Uchiha head of his, but he had grown up from the hot-headed boy he used to be.

_Deal with Akatsuki first, then I can beat him up as much as I like without interruptions._

He nodded to himself, blue eyes sparkling with determination.

This time he would bring him back.

* * *

Itachi watched as Amaya slept silently, peacefully. She'd been strange the previous night, and had refused to look at him after sitting herself atop the large sand dune again. 

She'd also been crying again; he could tell by the way her eyes were slightly puffy. He sighed lightly to himself. Quite honestly, he was a little unsure about his own feelings. Were they just old feelings being drawn up? She was different to how she used to be, though – well, she had only been ten at the time and he had only been thirteen, barely ANBU at that point – but it was her eyes that had always stirred something inside him.

They were bluer than they used to be, brighter and more captivating. The way they sparkled when she smiled; the way they flashed when she was angry; the way they were as cold as ice when she was annoyed but usually as warm as the clear blue oceans of the Land of Water in the middle of summer.

_Whatever she makes me feel, it is unimportant. Shinobi do not show emotion, especially Akatsuki_, he told himself, his face betraying none of his thoughts.

Amaya stirred and those beautiful eyes of hers flicked open. Seeing him she immediately turned the other way, speaking after a moment.

"Eight people. I doubt they all just so happen to be out here heading towards us by coincidence?"

A hint of a smile crossed his lips, "I, too, doubt that it is coincidence."

Getting to his feet he waited patiently. They could run, heading towards the hideout, but they had been tracked his far and they could not afford to lose another one. Besides, this could prove to be interesting.

The five Konoha ninja were still on their way, but there were now three other chakra signatures coming steadily towards them. To his slight annoyance one was his brother, but the other was the unmistakable chakra of the Kyuubi container.

He waited. Perhaps those two would tire themselves out, saving him from wasting his energy dealing with them, also giving him the chance to could collect the Kyuubi while he was here. He looked down at Amaya who was now on her feet too. There was a high possibility that she could get caught up in this, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

"You will stay behind me and you will not go anywhere. If you move or try to run I will get you back. Understood?"

At first she didn't reply but after he suggested that he tie her up just to make sure she didn't try anything, she sighed. He was cold and threatening again.

"Hai," she replied shortly, wondering just what was going to happen with these eight people closing in on them.

Shrugging lightly to herself she decided that what was going to happen, was going happen, and that couldn't be helped.

Only, it wouldn't happen the way that any of them were expecting it to.

* * *

And that, dear readers, is the end of yet another chapter. As I said at the beginning, long and boring, but now I've got it all set up for some good ol' action in the next chapter. 

Also, Amaya's losing her mind? Not good. She loved him? Not good either, eh? And what about Ice-cube-chan himself? Isn't it sweet how they watch each other sleep? Oh and some of you may be wondering where the fudge Sasuke suddenly fits into all of this...Well, he is there for a reason (and not just randomly), which I should hopefully get round to explaining in the next chapter amidst all the action, yay!

Feel free to review... You know you want to...


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto..._

Well, I'm glad to say that all my exams are now over! Which means I have alot more time to write chapters, so the waits between them should now be much shorter; yay.

Thank you all for the reviews, which are wonderful as usual, and simply because I'm in the mood for it...

Hibiki-chan: Thanks for reading and reviewing every time!  
Valinor's Twilight: Glad you're enjoying the story! Thanks for the review!  
KuraiOokami: I can't wait to see what happens either!  
Sorrowangel: Thank you for the review!  
KinKitsune: Wow, it's great to see I'm still getting new reviewers even this far in! Thank you! Oh, and all your questions will be answered soon, I promise! And if it's Deidara you want, then I'm sure I could just so happen to manage to have bit more of him in there, and Tobi? I couldn't possibly write a whole story without a bit of Tobi in there! Won't be able to fit them in next chapter, but I'll have lots of them in chapter 20, just for you!  
Itachi'sgirl4ever: I wonder if he actually loves her too...Guess we'll just have to wait and see...Thanks for reading and I'm glad you like it!

As for all the 'update soon's I definitely will, so long as you guys keep reviewing! Thanks again!

* * *

**Chapter 18  
**

Amaya's face was as blank as Itachi's, the tapping of her foot the only sign she gave of annoyance.

_What's taking all these people so long? Just get here already…and give him something else to look at other than me._

With one last extra loud tap she turned to glare at him.

"I'm flattered that you can't take your eyes off me, but do you mind?"

"No," he replied, sharingan eyes unmoving.

"Well, I mind, so could you look somewhere else?" She said, a little sharper than she had intended.

He blinked slowly and a kunai appeared in his hand but she already knew what was coming and put up her hands defensively.

"Hang on, with eight enemies creeping up on you, you wouldn't want to be caught off guard because you were berating me about the way I spoke to you, would you?" She put to him reasonably, not liking the way his kunai glinted dangerously in the light.

But it wasn't what she said that had made him draw his weapon – it was the presence of the person now stood directly behind him.

"She's right. I'd hate killing you to be so easy after everything I've gone through," a low voice spoke from behind them, as high pitched bird-like sounds reached their ears.

"It's been a while, Sasuke," Itachi said calmly, turning to the boy.

Amaya looked past Itachi. The boy, or rather, young man, was perhaps a few years younger than her self. He had dark hair, with a distinct dark blue tint, framing his pale face. His eyes were blood red, the same as Itachi's, and shone with pure hatred.

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she looked up at Itachi, then back at Sasuke, who had now started running towards them.

"He's…your brother?"

"Yes," came the short reply, and he easily caught his brothers hand, chidori disappearing rapidly.

With one swift movement Itachi got rid of the bunshin and blocked Sasuke's attack from above.

Amaya stepped back as they began exchanging blows in rapid succession. She noticed that Itachi barely moved from where he stood, whereas Sasuke was flitting around him, a thin sheen of sweat already showing on his forehead.

Catching one of Sasuke's hands with his own, blocking his sword with the other, Itachi dealt his brother a kick to his stomach, sending him flying backwards, where he landed a little unsteadily, but on his feet, a few meters away.

Amaya's eyebrows rose at the speed with which they both moved. Mostly a blur she was surprised with her own ability to follow the battle at all and wondered how it was possible for someone to move that fast. She didn't realise that she had come close to that speed when fighting Kisame before.

Sasuke grit his teeth together as Itachi stood watching him, his face the same as it had been last time.

_I'm stronger now than I was then. I can beat him this time. I will avenge the Uchiha clan! _

He threw himself at Itachi, his sword flicking swiftly and precisely, but each time it was blocked by a kunai. Sharingan eyes met sharingan eyes for a moment, before he jumped away, launching a dozen shuriken and considering weather to release the curse seal or not.

_No, I'll beat him with my own power, _he decided stubbornly.

It was only as he began to move again that he noticed the girl was still there. He then wondered what her importance to his brother was. Perhaps he could use her?

Truly he wanted to beat Itachi on his own strength, the strength that he had worked so long and hard to obtain, but all shinobi had their weaknesses, and if he had found Itachi's weakness he was going to exploit it for all it was worth. It wasn't the same as borrowing power from someone else; it was still his own strength.

Amaya met Sasuke's burning gaze for a moment, as though she had heard his thoughts. She hadn't of course…

_What is it with these guys and staring at me?_

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted, producing a large ball of fire and aiming it in Itachi's direction.

Amaya jumped backwards so as not to be caught in the blast as Itachi disappeared from where he had been stood and appeared behind Sasuke. He buried a kunai into his younger brother's shoulder. Again it turned out to be a bunshin, as did the other dozen Sasuke's which suddenly came running at him.

He had seen Sasuke's gaze linger on the girl for a moment and was moving before even the first bunshin had disappeared completely.

Hands moving faster than even Sasuke could see, he created a clone of himself which ran at his brother and stopped him in his tracks. Appearing behind Amaya, Itachi began to move to pick her up but then he stopped, a small smile finding its way onto his lips as he glanced over his shoulder and was met with a cool blue gaze, watching from a safe distance.

_She's better than I thought…_ He admitted grudgingly, as Sasuke destroyed his clone with an annoyed grunt and was rushing towards him again.

Dozens of shuriken and kunai came flying at him, all of which he calmly dodged or deflected. He barely suppressed a smirk as Sasuke appeared behind 'Amaya', a kunai to her throat with a triumph shining in his glare.

"Ano…" Amaya said, sounding mildly surprised at the arm that was suddenly around her waist, holding her in an almost painful grip, and the kunai that was dangerously close to her neck.

"This is _your_ fight, with _him_," she said to Sasuke, pointing to Itachi, "I'm just a girl he kidnapped for Kami-sama knows what reason. I'd rather not get involved."

"Be quiet," Sasuke growled, pressing the kunai against her throat so that he almost drew blood.

"Or what, you'll kill me and become a cold-hearted murderer like him?"

"I will kill him, and anyone who gets my way. I don't need to kill you but I will if you stop me from reaching my goal."

"Well, I wasn't stopping you before and I won't start now, so how about letting go of me?" she reasoned, annoyance lacing her voice.

_Two Uchihas left in the world, and they're both as annoying as each other! _

"Tell me why you did it, and I'll let her go," Sasuke said, ignoring her; he wanted answers before he killed Itachi, and this seemed a good way to go about getting them. He didn't actually intend on killing the girl, though, "And don't tell me it was to test your strength. There has to be something more than that."

"There is nothing more."

"There is, there has to be. You said to me that I was too young to understand, but I'm not a child anymore. Tell me," Sasuke insisted.

"I did it simply for power. There was no other reason."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed with anger and the kunai against Amaya's neck pressed harder. She didn't really notice as she was deep in thought.

_Why did he do it? There must have been a reason. 'Too young to understand'... What would someone be too young to understand? There are so many things kids don't understand… I wonder how old Sasuke-san would have been when it happened; and Itachi. I can't remember…I met him when he was thirteen, he'd just become an ANBU captain…How long did I know him? _

_…What did he do after I fell? That couldn't have had anything to do with it. If he'd murdered anyone it would have been _my_ family… _

"Did something else happen?" She murmured to herself, almost inaudibly. Sasuke looked down at her, wondering what she was on about, but ignored it.

"Tell me or I'll kill her!" He shouted, becoming angrier as Itachi simply smirked at him.

_Damn, he knows I wouldn't really kill her…Damn him! _

Itachi _did_ know that, but that wasn't the reason for his smirk. He moved swiftly towards Sasuke, who's eyes widened momentarily as Itachi buried his kunai into Amaya's chest and then, as she disappeared in a puff of smoke, into his brothers stomach.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

_She was clone? _

He jumped backwards, his hand over his wounded stomach. He was glad for the height difference or that would have been through his chest too, and much worse. As it was it seemed to have missed his vital organs.

_Kuso…The Sharingan can't tell the difference between shadow clones and real people… They're not like a genjutsu which you can see through... _

* * *

Watching the ongoing exchange, Kisame was sat casually on top of a sand dune, unnoticed by all except for Itachi. He would have like to get involved, but it was just as amusing to watch for now. If the Konoha ninja tried to make a move he would have his fun with them, though.

* * *

As Itachi and Sasuke continued, disappearing and reappearing seconds later, metal clashing on metal, with the occasionally grunt of pain and anger from Sasuke, Amaya slid down the side of the sand dune from where she had been sitting on top - a spot that she had become strangely fond of – opposite Kisame. 

Her attention was on the six Leaf shinobi. One boy sitting on a large white dog; one who looked bored with everything; one who's face was almost blank enough to match Itachi's; and a girl who was fiddling with her hands nervously as though wondering if she should do something rather than just standing there.

There was also a girl with unusually bright pink hair, with fiery green eyes and a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, with the same sparkle in them as the girl's.

The latter two were both watching the battle between the two brothers far more intently then the rest of them.

Seeing as the only present Akatsuki member was currently preoccupied, the team decided to take advantage of the distraction Sasuke was providing (of course, they still, somehow, hadn't noticed the shark-man watching them).

"Amaya-san?" The blank-faced one asked just to confirm that it was her. She nodded.

"We're here to rescue you from Akatsuki," He said simply.

"And who are you people?"

"We're from Konoha, here at a request from your friend to help save you," and he then introduced each of them briefly.

Amaya's eyes widened slightly, "Hana-chan? She asked you to save me?" A smile tugged at her lips, "You'd risk your lives at a request from a complete stranger?"

"There is more to it than that, but for the sake of time and simplicity, for now, yes," Shikamaru answered.

"P-please come w-with us, A-Amaya-san," Hinata said quietly, stuttering.

"I wish it was that easy…" Amaya said as Kisame appeared behind the group, teeth bared eagerly, "Thank you for coming for me, but I don't want to be responsible for any of you getting hurt."

"You'll be safe in Konoha," Neji replied.

_It's not _my_ safety I'm worried about… _

"It's best to move while they're not paying attention," Shikamaru explained.

_But Kisame-san _is_ paying attention…_

"T-Tsunade-sama will l-look after you," Hinata added quietly.

_Who's she? _

"You know how dangerous Akatsuki are, right?" Asked Kiba.

_Oh, I have a fair idea… _

"He's right, it's safer to come with us," Sakura nodded.

_Yeah, and be hunted forever? _

"We won't let them get you, Amaya-san!" Naruto reassured her.

_That's a nice thought, but I doubt you could stop them… _

"Women are so troublesome…" mumbled Shikamaru, feeling it was necessary to add his thoughts as she still hadn't moved.

_Damn right!_

Amaya put a hand to her head.

_I want to go but Kisame-san is going to rip you all to shreds…And I can't go until I understand what's going on…Until I get my memories back; I need to know how I feel about him… _

"You think we'll just let you all run off?" Kisame asked, making himself known, bored of waiting. All heads whipped towards him with surprise.

They all fell quiet getting into defensive positions, trying to remember Shikamaru's plan incase they found them selves faced with an Akatsuki. They wouldn't need that plan, though.

"Ne, Sharky, if your looking for a fight then I'm all for it. What do you say?" A cheery voice called out, causing all heads to turn for a second time.

Amaya's eyes widened. She turned, as if in slow motion.

"H-Hana?" She couldn't believe her eyes. Her friend gave her a wide smile, throwing her arms around her.

"Yup, it's me, Amaya-chan!" As she let go she added, "Sorry for scaring you…"

Amaya shook her head slowly, "It doesn't matter. You're alive!" And then a large smile broke out on her face. Hana was alive!

The moment was broken as Kisame spoke.

"Midget…You're alive?"

"Well observed. I told you, didn't I? Don't assume someone dead before they actually are. Honestly, you not only look like a shark, but you have the mind of one too," Hana replied, turning to him.

Grinning Kisame drew Samehada.

"Rematch," Hana said, drawing her own sword.

_When did Hana-chan get a sword? Ah, if I have weapons from 'before' then I guess it makes sense that she does too…I wonder where she got it from? _

"Amaya-chan, while the Uchiha is still busy, go with them," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the Konoha nins, "I'll take care of Sharky here."

"But-."

"Just go, I promise I'll catch up."

* * *

"I do not have time for you today, Sasuke," Itachi said, hitting Sasuke to the ground. 

Stubbornly getting to his feet Sasuke pointed his sword at his brother.

"You never had time for me," he yelled, and ran at Itachi for what felt like the hundredth time.

Itachi didn't move until Sasuke was almost right before him. He slammed his kunai against his brothers sword so hard it sent it spinning through the air to stick in the sand far out of reach.

Sasuke's sharingan eyes became their natural deep blue as a hand gripped tightly around his throat, cutting off his air.

"You are still weak and you still do not have enough hatred. I am growing tired of this, Sasuke," Itachi said quietly, and he brought his knee up, smashing into Sasuke's already wounded stomach and earning a loud grunt of pain.

He did not stop there.

* * *

After a moment Amaya nodded and turned back to the team from Konoha, but their attention was currently on where Sasuke was laying, almost unconscious, Sakura and Naruto at his side. 

"Go away. I have to…kill him…" Sasuke muttered, trying to push them away, but they were having none of it.

"Naruto, will you hold him down. I can't heal you if you keep moving, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said in a no-nonsense tone, pale green chakra surrounding her hands.

Nodding, Naruto pinned down his former team mate and friend.

"That's all I can do for now. He'll just need to rest for a few days," Sakura said, looking up at Naruto, who had a grin plastered to his face. With an arm over each of their shoulders they picked a still protesting Sasuke up between them and moved back to their team.

"Right, let's go!" Naruto shouted, satisfied that they had completed their mission and retrieved their friend after so long.

As they all started to move, Amaya made to follow, glancing one last time over at Hana and Kisame who both seemed to be enjoying themselves, but her gaze did not go so afar as to see the Uchiha coming up behind her.

She froze as she felt warm breath suddenly on her neck.

_Damn… _

* * *

"Woah, that was a close one Sharky. You almost had my head there," Hana said, blocking Samehada with her own sword. 

"That was the point, Midget," Kisame grinned as she ducked and swung her legs under him in an attempt to knock him over.

He jumped, and slammed Samehada down, sending sand flying as she rolled to the side. Shuriken flew through the still falling sand and Kisame jumped to the side to find her already there, fist moving rapidly towards his face.

Blinking in surprise he caught her by the wrist, her hand glowing with chakra an inch from his face. Because of the height difference she was now hanging with her feet a short way from the ground and he lifted her up so that they were face to face.

"Hmm, I knew you were a medic-nin at one point, but this is the first time you've used those skills in a fight."

Hana shrugged (as best she could with one arm above her head), "I prefer normal taijutsu. Besides, I was in hospital for a few days and got a chance to speak to _the _Tsunade. Everyone knows what she can do, and I could do it quite well on my own, but she gave me a few tips, so I thought I'd try them out on you."

"So now I'm a guinea-pig, huh?"

"Nope, still an ugly, ugly Shark," she giggled and kicked him the stomach, chakra in her feet sending him flying back from her and letting go of her wrist.

She landed easily on her feet, as did he, though he was rubbing his stomach. He noticed that she hadn't done him any considerable damage, despite the fact that it was a direct hit.

"Ooo, hurt did it?"

"Not as much as this will," he growled, appearing behind her, Samehada hitting her in the side and sending her skidding through the sand; his sword was still wrapped in its bandages, though.

"Itai!" Hana shouted, bouncing back onto her feet, picking up her sword which she had dropped, and glaring at him.

There was a smile on her face though and he had one to match as they ran towards each other again.

* * *

Amaya froze as Itachi whispered into her ear. 

"It would be wiser not to go with them. You know that, Amaya. You're a clever girl, aren't you?" His low voice was deadly soft, daring her to make a move.

She looked over her shoulder at him.

"I guess you were right the first time," she said quietly.

_I'm a complete and total BAKA!_

She couldn't stop herself. She drew a kunai as she jerked her elbow backwards, intending to get him in the stomach. He caught her arm. She spun around to face him, a kunai now in the other hand, aiming for his side. As she did so though, she dropped the first kunai. He caught her other arm, too, holding each wrist tightly.

She tried to jerk her hands free but he maneuvered her so that her back was to him again, however, this time she had her arms pinned behind her.

He smirked. She couldn't hold onto her weapons and hadn't even laid a hand on him yet. The smirk slid slowly from his face.

She slammed her foot down on his with as much strength as she could muster. It surprised him for a moment, but that was all she needed. She yanked the hand with the kunai still in it free, before cutting his other hand causing him to release her other arm too.

Then she began a barrage of fast paced kicks, all of which he blocked easily before catching one of her legs tightly around her ankle. That didn't stop her though and she leant backwards, as though doing a back flip, bringing her other leg up in the direction of his chin.

Sharingan eyes widened as he realised that at the speed with which she was moving he would not be able to completely avoid her next kick. It wasn't so much the kick itself that would cause him the damage, though.

The kunai which she had 'dropped' was effectively stuck to sole of her shoe with pale blue chakra.

He wondered vaguely how it was that she somehow always managed to injure him, when stronger shinobi had died without getting so much as a scratch on him.

The Konoha ninja all watched, gob smacked that someone could actually injure the infamous Uchiha Itachi.

Sasuke's eyes were glowing with the Sharingan again as he hung between his two former team mates. How could she manage that, when he couldn't? He watched avidly, taking in her every move. Maybe he could learn something from her.

Hana and Kisame paused from their own fight to watch.

Everyone's attention was glued to the pair.

* * *

Lots of action, as promised, and more to come. And Hana-chan is back, woo! Please review! 


	19. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own this awesome chapter..._

Wow, so many reviews and favourite/alert adds - my inbox was flooded! Thank you all so much! I really enjoy writing this chapter and hope you all enjoy reading it just as much!! I actually quite excited about it..woo!

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Amaya was quite surprising herself with the way her body was moving, ignoring the shouts from her brain to stop being such an idiot. She knew that she probably wouldn't win against Itachi, and yet she couldn't stop. In fact she rather thought she was winning.

She was glad that the kunai was stuck to the bottom of her foot as she had planned. Her foot didn't come into contact with his body, but the kunai found its mark in his stomach. Her foot continued to move, heading in the direction of his chin as she leant back with hands stretched out reaching for the sand behind her, as she planned to do a back flip away from him.

Itachi, however, still had a hold on her other ankle. It was his turn to lean back and her foot missed his face. At the same time he pulled her towards him and drew a kunai of his own.

Her ears caught the sound of the weapon being drawn, despite it being so expertly quiet. She knew which hand he was holding the kunai in and she quickly drew one of her own. She could hear the rustle of his cloak as his arm moved and, judging his movements from the sounds, she moved her own kunai to block. To her relief and surprise there was the chink of metal on metal.

Eyes which she hadn't realised she had closed flew open as he let go of her ankle and moved to the side. She was still moving from the momentum of his pull. Twisting in the air she landed lightly on her feet and stood up straight, watching him warily a few meters away.

_Well, that was…interesting…_

She met his blood red gaze for a moment before closing her eyes again.

_Sharingan. Genjutsu. Man__gekyou. Tsukuyomi._

_**Funny how things come rushing back to you, isn't it?**_

A smile flickered across her lips, _you could say that. Wait, you again? Who are you? I don't-_

_**You will, in time. Perhaps it would be better if you did not. But you will.**_

The smile changed to a frown, but she could hear Itachi's light footsteps moving towards her. She was still holding the kunai in her hand, but this time she did not want the kunai itself. She untied the ribbon which was tied through the hole. It was like the one in her hair, long and wide. She hadn't given it much thought before, but hair ribbons were generally much narrower. She brought it up to her head and tied it around her eyes, like a blind fold.

_If I can't see him, he c__an't catch me with his illusions._

Still not completely sure what she was doing, or how she was doing it, she got into a defensive stance and felt as though this was the purpose for the ribbons in the first place.

_"You never really used to use it for your hair anyway."_

* * *

"What's she doing? He'll kill her!" Naruto shouted from where the Konoha team were still stood. 

"No. I don't know how much she's remembered, but she knows what she's doing," Hana and Kisame were stood watching the fight, Kisame seeming to enjoy it, while Hana's face was unreadable. "She knows about the Sharingan and how he can catch her in his illusions, even if she doesn't make eye contact with him."

"So she blindfolded herself," Sakura finished, "but how will she fight like that?"

"Every ninja has their special abilities," Kisame answered, "Some work with illusions, others like your self, Kunoichi, work with healing. Midget here is creative and unpredictable with her tactics…"

"Amaya-chan works with sound. She can hear the smallest sounds for miles with just the tiniest bit of chakra. She could hear your heartbeat if you were a day away. To fight she doesn't need her eyes; as long as she can hear his movements she can fight just as well as if she could see, better in fact."

"It's the ultimate way to beat the Sharingan," Sasuke said, grudging awe tingeing his voice.

Hana nodded, but it was Kisame who answered.

"She's never won though. They've always drawn, except once."

The Konoha nins all drew their eyes away from the battle for a moment to look at the Shark-man questioningly.

"They've fought before?" Neji asked.

"Many times," Hana replied, "Quiet now or all she'll be able to hear is us talking."

They all nodded in understanding and swung their attention back to the Amaya and Itachi. None of them thought to ask about the 'once' that they had not drawn, and she had not won.

* * *

Itachi stopped a few paces away. As she couldn't see, Amaya missed the strange expression that flashed across his face – a small smile mixed with surprise but also annoyance, as making her come with him had suddenly become much more difficult. He also had a strange feeling of…worry? Dread, perhaps was too strong a word, but he found himself hoping that she had not remembered the last time they had fought. 

"We do not have to do this, Itachi. Just let me go home. My memories are coming back and I feel as though I'm on the edge of remembering what it was that I really wanted to forget. Just let me go."

"I cannot do that, Amaya."

"Then I guess I'll have to fight you."

"You never won."

"Neither did you," she replied and flickered out of his view. His eyes widened momentarily as he turned just in time to block her kunai.

Somewhere inside of him he felt relief. She didn't remember.

As they fought he thought of how she made him feel something each time they spoke, or fought. He didn't feel much about anything, but she made him smile and laugh. She made him worry, of all things. And she made him hope and feel relieved. She made him regret. It dawned on him that he also felt guilty. The infamous Uchiha Itachi who had murdered his whole family and made his little brother's life hell regretted none of it and yet he regretted that last fight. He had learnt that day that she could also make him angry.

"What are you thinking about?" Amaya asked calmly as she stood beside where he was lying on the ground. She was surprised that he had not dodged that hit, but he was not concentrating.

Without a word he was back on his feet and meeting her hit for hit. As her fist came at him he caught her arm and pushed her to the ground, falling on top of her and pinning her down. She wriggled and tried to bring her knee up but his weight was pressed against her and she could not get a decent hit.

"Stop, Amaya."

"I've decided. I don't want to go with you. I have a bad feeling about it. I want to remember what it was we had, but I have that sickly feeling again whenever something bad happens. I am not coming with you, Itachi," and she tried to pull her hand free but he held her tightly.

His cheek brushed hers as he leant towards her to whisper quietly, "Stop, Amaya. You cannot win and you will not get away. I do not want to have to force you to come."

"Force me? Aren't you doing that already?" She asked from above him as she tossed a kunai in her hand.

In an instant he was on his feet, anger flaring at being tricked. She let the clone disappear as he came at her faster than before. Or was she just slowing down? It had been a year or so since she had last fought like this and her body would take a while to get used to it again. Ignoring the tiredness entering her limbs she continued, but she could feel it in the way he moved that he knew. He wasn't hitting her so hard and half the time he didn't bother to dodge her as she did him no harm anyway.

Determination drove her on. _I will not give up. I won't let him win._

His fist hit her in the stomach before she could move out of the way. With a cry she fell backwards. She tried to scramble to her feet but she only got to her knees before he had a hold on one of her wrists again. He pulled her to her feet. She wondered what he was doing until she felt cold metal against her temple. With one swift movement he left a light scratch against her skin, down to her cheek, severing the ribbon at the same time.

She started up at him, wide-eyed. Sharingan eyes seemed to bore into her. "Give up, Amaya."

"I can't. I can't let you take me away. I know somewhere inside me that I can't let you do whatever it is you're planning. I don't know what it is, but I can't just stand here and go without a fight!"

Her eyes widened further as his narrowed with anger. Suddenly fear shot through her, running through her veins and making her legs go weak. Her mouth went dry. Her heart felt as though it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. Her breath caught in her throat.

He blinked, staring blankly at the suddenly terror painted on her pretty features. The blood had drained form her face making her pale. He let go of her as a strangled cry finally escaped from her throat.

She took a step back from him and crumbled to the ground, holding her head in her hands.

_Sharingan. Genjutsu. Mangekyou. Tsukuyomi._

She hadn't given much thought to what the four words meant other than he couldn't catch her if she couldn't see. Now though, they all held more meaning.

Sharingan, the Uchiha bloodline; Genjutsu, illusions and Itachi's speciality; Mangekyou, the next, more powerful and more dangerous stage to the Sharingan.

And Tsukuyomi.

_Red moon, the whole world, all black white and red…Tsukuyomi…memories lived over and over…torture…pain so real just like the time it actually happened. _

_Tsukuyomi, the world that he controls, so real and inescapable._

She stared at the sand, not seeing it. She didn't see anything except the memories that flashed before her eyes until the movement of him taking a step towards her made her start.

Looking up at him with blue eyes full of fear she suddenly found the ability to move again and shuffled backwards. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run. As he caught her and turned her to face him she barely managed to stifle the scream that tried to tear itself from her throat.

Then she gasped and fell silent. He pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly, holding her close. After a moment he spoke, so quietly she could barely hear it, but it made her heart slow and she buried her face in his cloak as she shook and a small sob escaped her lips.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

I have no comment except, who's going to be my hundredth reviewer, eh? 


	20. Chapter 20

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_.

...Time flies, I guess...Sorry about the delay, this chapter took a while to write...I wanted to get Deidara and Tobi in there (as promised!) but I wasn't compleatly sure _how _I wanted them to fit into this chapter...Anyway, I sort of did it in the end...

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!! So many!

Enjoy, I guess... If anyone remembers where we left off?...

* * *

**Chapter 20**

"I'm sorry."

The words that Itachi rarely said meant so much to her; the way he held her made her feel safe, though it was he who had put her in such a state to begin with and for that she could not find it in herself at that moment to forgive him. She now remembered how he had made her relive that same terrifying memory over and over again, being dragged; pushed; falling; the pain followed by fear as her eyes closed against her will. Each time when she found the energy to force her eyes open it would start again. Even if she hadn't opened her eyes, he had still made her relive the memory, down to the last detail.

There had been one thing missing each time, though; Him. She had been through it so many times without him calling out her name as he had the first time that she had begun to forget, until she wasn't sure that he had even called out in the first place.

Pulling herself together and her thoughts away from the memory which plagued her, she placed her hands against his chest and pushed him away from her, looking up at him. Her eyes were hard and he found that for a change he had no idea what she was thinking.

"No, Itachi. I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't forget it now. It's ironic that all I wanted was to remember and now I wish it would all just go away again. I've decided that I won't run away this time, though. Not this time."

Her feelings were a mixed up mess in her mind and she wasn't sure if she loved him or hated him, but she knew one thing; there was something that she needed to do. Her gaze moved past Itachi to where Sasuke was hanging between Naruto and Sakura, his mouth hanging open, surprise and confusion clearly written across his face.

"What? What's going on? That can't be Itachi. No, he would never…He can't…How could she…?" He spoke to himself, but aloud. Everyone was thinking the same and shook their heads, unable to answer him.

They all watched as Amaya moved towards them. Sasuke freed himself from his friends and moved towards her. He knew it was him she wanted to speak to by the way her eyes were on him alone.

Stopping about arms length away from each other they were both silent. When she spoke her voice was soft and quiet, yet everyone could hear it clearly.

"Sasuke-san, I guess none of this makes sense to anyone, but you most of all. All this time you've been searching for answers, but he wouldn't give them to you. His reasons for doing that are his own, but there's something I want you to know. I guess I should start from the beginning."

"Amaya-chan, it wasn't your fault, it was him," Hana called out, knowing what was coming, knowing that Amaya had always felt guilty, "It was his choice, his decision and he is the one who did it. You don't have to blame yourself!" She took a step towards her friend, but Kisame laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I think you know better than any of us that this is something she feels she has to do. Let her do it, Midget."

For a moment Hana looked as though she wanted to shout again, but eventually she nodded reluctantly. Amaya carried on as if she had not heard.

"Shortly after your brother became an ANBU captain he had a mission in Kumogakure, my home. The details of how we met aren't important, but we became...friends." Her small pause was the only sign that they had become slightly more than just friends. "He was there for a few weeks, gathering information but one day a few members of his team were found and surrounded. Perhaps back then he had some care for his teammates, or maybe it was just for the information that they had managed to retrieve, but Itachi intervened, whatever his reasons."

She sighed then, but her eyes never left him for a moment and Sasuke was beginning to wonder where this was all going.

"Even the greatest ninja can be beaten when he is far outnumbered by men who are only slightly below him. I couldn't simply stand there and watch, so I moved in front of him and...asked them to stop. Our countries were only a step away from war at that time, so my act made me a traitor in their eyes. For that I paid dearly, and they thought I was dead, but I managed to survive. I had nowhere to go after that, so I went - with Hana-chan who had almost faced the same punishment for standing up for me – to Konoha; to him. They weren't particularly willing to take us in, though. Your clan, in particular, was against us."

She paused again, blue eyes burning into him and suddenly he had an inkling of what was coming.

"Some of them said things that they shouldn't have. Even the children were cruel and some went so far as attacking us. Their acts cost them their lives." Her voice became even quieter and wavered slightly, "I'm sorry, Sasuke, that I ever went to Konoha."

He stared, dumbstruck, his thoughts racing. He took a deep breath before asking the same question he had asked a thousand times: "Why did he leave me alive though?"

"You were about nine then, so I suppose you don't really remember, but you were the only one who wasn't against us from the start. You never said or did anything. He had no reason to kill you."

Sasuke stared at her as he tried to process what he was being told, "So he killed everyone because they-they hurt you?"

She nodded slowly, "You were too young to understand, ne?"

He blinked and his eyes widened as something suddenly occurred to him, but it was so unbelievable that he struggled to voice it, "Itachi murdered them all…because he was – because he - he was in…love?" His voice was barely above a whisper as he tried to put 'Itachi' and 'love' together. He shook his head. "That can't be true, he doesn't care, he doesn't feel, he doesn't…doesn't…"

"Not anymore, maybe, but I believe he did back then."

Sasuke's eyes moved from her to Itachi, still stood a short way away watching calmly, and then back again. He was finding it hard to accept that, firstly, Itachi had ever loved anyone and secondly that he may have had an actual reason. It didn't make it right, but Sasuke could almost understand.

"I don't believe you. I don't believe any of it. Him…in love…with you…I-I don't believe any of it." The truth was that he now wasn't sure who to blame. Itachi, of course, but then she was the cause, and yet, it was a better explanation than simply to test his strength.

"What does he want with you now, though?" He asked, pushing everything to the back of his mind for a moment, before his head exploded from the contradiction that 'Itachi' and 'love' posed.

"That is something else that does not concern you. I just wanted you to know that there were reasons and circumstances behind his actions. Now go, all of you," she said to Sasuke and the team from Konoha. Turning to Hana she threw a kunai to her friend, who caught it in surprise, "If I look like I'm losing control, I want you to be the one to do it. Not him."

"What? Wait, you can't mean…? No, I won't do it. I can't…How can you ask me to do such a thing?"

"You don't have to kill me, just to stop me. I'm counting on you, Hana-chan." Amaya gave her a small, reassuring smile before turning back to Itachi, her face blank, her voice cold. "I refuse to come with you. Either you walk away, let me walk away or we fight."

"You know I cannot simply let you go." He had watched her actions closely and already knew what she was planning. "That's dangerous. You could lose yourself, your friend, innocent people. Are you really willing to risk all of them in an attempt to save yourself, which could fail miserably anyway?"

Looking over her shoulder at the Konoha nins she repeated her command, "Go home. I'm sorry that this has really just been a waste of your time, but it's not safe here. Go!" They started to move, Shikamaru muttering about women being troublesome and Sasuke glancing back at her one last time, leaving with the aid of Naruto and Sakura, who Hana thanked hurriedly again for saving her from Orochimaru.

Closing her blue eyes slowly, Amaya took a deep breath. _I wonder if this is really the right thing to do. But it's the only way I can see to have a chance of beating him._

_I-I know you want to get out, to take control, but would you rather controlled by them, used as tools to fight their battles? I understand that you're not exactly free right now, but they'll just lock you away until they need you before sending you back. At least this way you can get a glimpse of the world, ne? So please, lend me your strength, just for a little but…but please let me stay as myself. _

She waited for an answer. The seconds ticked by, and just as she was sure that she would get no answer, the voice spoke.

_**Now, now, that's not like you at all. You sound almost pleading. But you know it's not up to me. You borrow my power, but if you take too much it's your own fault. I'll lend you my power against him though; I never did like Uchihas much.**_

A cruel laugh that did not belong to her resounded inside her head, but she ignored it.

Her eyes snapped open and she fixed Itachi with her icy glare, but he was already moving. She jumped, matching his speed easily. She could feel chakra flowing through her, more and more, until it surrounded her. It was different to normal chakra; it was a bright orange-yellow colour, and flicked and fizzed around her, buzzing with electricity.

"Is that chakra…?" Kisame asked with his usual grin of anticipation on his face.

Hana's expression was the complete opposite as she gazed at the kunai in her hand, "Hai."

"Ah, so she is…?"

"Hai."

"Perhaps we should go on ahead?"

"But I-," Hana started, but was cut off.

"Itachi-san will win before it comes to that. Come on. They'll both need seeing to once this is over, so we might as well have it all ready for them," Kisame said, prodding her away from the fight and towards the Akatsuki base.

It would be easier for her if she did not have to watch.

* * *

Amaya and Itachi were disappearing and reappearing faster anyone would have been able to follow. Fire and lightning flew back and forth, throwing sand into the air to join the kunai and shuriken which accompanied the jutsus. 

Occasionally they landed, only to be flying through the air in the next second. Neither of them spoke or shouted anything, except to execute their jutsu. Every now and then there was a hiss of pain or a gasp of surprise, accompanied by the sounds of grim satisfaction at the other's pain.

Finally they landed a few feet apart. Itachi had a cut on his cheek, and his leg was bleeding badly from a deep slash, but he was still standing up straight. The stomach wound she had inflicted on him earlier stung and burned each time he moved, but his face betrayed none of his pain.

Amaya's body was beginning to change slowly from the unusual chakra and she licked a long wound which ran the length of her forearm before letting out a small laugh as she watched it heal rapidly.

"Is that all you've got _Uchiha_?" She asked, appearing behind him. Her movements were growing faster and even though Itachi could follow with his eyes, his body was beginning to have trouble keeping up. He would have to end this soon.

Amaya ducked easily as he threw another kunai at her. She thought it odd that he only threw one – a single kunai wasn't going to do her much harm - but then it occurred to her that even he had to run out of them at some point. It was then that she noticed that she had only two kunai left her self. Drawing one she decided that it was the time for close combat.

However, her foot did not move as she wanted it to. Looking down she blinked in surprise at the sand burying her feet and twisting up her legs, binding her tightly.

_Genjutsu? When did he…the kunai? No matter._ She closed her eyes and focused, directing chakra to her head so that she could break the illusion. _More, more, more…Why isn't it breaking? _She pushed all the chakra she could gather up to her head,_ I can't lose. Why can't I break out of this?_

"Amaya, it's over." His voice was steady and calm, but he was panting slightly.

She shook her head, "No, I won't give up. I won't let you-" The end of her sentence was lost as his fist hit her heavily in the stomach, causing her to fall backwards. Instantly the sand began to wrap around her whole body, squeezing tighter and tighter.

"Give up."

"No!" She struggled, still channelling chakra to her head, but she was beginning to become desperate.

With her free hand she managed to pull her last kunai free but before she could do anything with it he had a hold of her wrist and squeezed it tightly. There was a snap. A cry of pain escaped her lips and the kunai dropped to the sand. Tears pricked her eyes, from the pain, from the desperation, from the memories that now filled her mind, of times when they had smiled together. Yet now they were trying to kill each other.

"Why does it have to turn out like this?" She asked through gritted teeth, chakra disappearing before her broken wrist healed, as she lost the will to fight for a moment. She felt tired and drained and her chest rose and fell rapidly, as did Itachi's.

Letting go of the genjutsu he looked down at her. He only had a moment to realize that that was the wrong decision. She was still determined and had kept hold of the kunai she had drawn before being bound by his illusion; he hadn't realised she was still clutching it.

Holding it with her uninjured hand she took advantage of the brief moment she had, bouncing up onto her feet and made a slashing motion. He blocked quickly, but was left with a deep cut across both arms.

It was then Amaya's turn to regret her decision. In a flash he was behind her, his own kunai in hand. With one swift motion he left a long wound on her back, from her shoulder to the opposite hip.

Her back arched from the sudden pain, but she refused to give up. Even as they both tired and their movements gradually got slower, they carried on. It wasn't until Amaya tried to run at him again and tripped over her own feet that they stopped. She collided into him, knocking him to the ground.

She hadn't the energy to get back up, and he seemed to lack the strength to move her. After what seemed like hours she lifted her head from his chest and found herself staring into two endless black pools, instead of the glaring red Sharingan.

"It's been a while since we fought like that," she murmured.

He gave her a small smile, "Aa."

"There's no way around it, is there?"

Itachi did not reply.

* * *

Hana walked silently beside Kisame, caught up in her own thoughts. 

_When Amaya forgot everything she changed so much. She never used to smile, but when she forgot it all she remembered how to…feel again. Is she the same as how she used to be? Or still how she was afterwards? Will she remember how to laugh, how to cry?_

_I tried so hard, Amaya-chan, but it still came to this. I'm so sorry. If I hadn't gone wandering off into the forest, if I had just listened to what you said. I guess in truth I missed all the action, the adventure…I'm so stupid. Everything I do always ends up this way. You were always the sensible one, while I just made mistakes. If there was a way that I could save you, I'd do it, no matter what. If only there was a way…_

She jumped a little as something was placed on her head. Looking up she found that it was Kisame's straw hat. He didn't look at her.

"Did you get sand in your eyes?"

At first she didn't understand but then she realized that she was crying. Wiping her face hurriedly she nodded. "Thank you."

_I guess even Sharky can be nice sometimes, _she thought, smiling as she did so, thankful that he hadn't made a point of it. It was a strange feeling, realizing that amongst all of this she had somehow made a friend of the shark man – even if he had almost killed her, but she was beginning to wonder if he hadn't finished her off on purpose.

She remembered when Amaya and Itachi used to meet each other occasionally. She and Kisame had seen each other a few times, but never spoken or even properly learned each others' names until that night when she and Amaya had been kidnapped. Before then the both Kisame and Hana were simply tag-a-longs, waiting for their partners.

_Who'd have thought I'd hate him so much? _She smiled quietly to herself, even as an old saying floated across her mind:

* * *

It was getting dark, and it had grown much colder when they finally reached the base. Hana stared in wonder. It was, again, different to the others. From the outside it looked like a mansion, tall and regal, with large doors and windows, and the inside was spacious and more house-like, with no long, dark corridors or gloomy passages, yet somehow it did not seem out of place. She thought vaguely that it seemed more like a home than a hideout. 

Hana followed Kisame to the kitchen, desperate for a drink and something to eat, feeling guilty for thinking about that when she had no idea what kind of state her friend was currently in.

"You finally got here then. We were beginning to wonder where you were, un."

"We would have got here sooner if Midget didn't walk so slowly," Kisame replied.

"Deidara-san, you're already here? Did you finish your business in Suna?"

"Un," the blonde haired Akatsuki member answered. "Where's Itachi-san and Amaya-san?"

"Fighting," Kisame explained. Hana tugged at the wide sleeve of his cloak, gazing wide-eyed at something that had caught her eye.

"Ano, is it me, or is the plant in the corner looking at me hungrily?"

"Ah, Zetsu, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. Well, not me so much. Could you fetch Itachi-san and the girl back here? They're about three hours north of here." Looking down at Hana he mumbled to himself, "I can't believe it took you five hours to make a three hour trip, even with those short legs." Hana heard and gave him a hard thump.

The 'plant' in the corner seemed to consider it for a moment before speaking slowly, "Ask Tobi," and then, in a different voice, "Yes, ask Tobi, he'll do it."

"Two voices? Split personality?"

"Something like that, un," Deidara answered with a small smile, "I think Tobi's -"

"Tobi is here." A man poked his head in the door. Hana blinked at the bright orange mask that covered his face, with a large swirling pattern that spiraled out from the single eye-hole.

"Tobi, you were listening?" Zetsu asked.

"Hai. Tobi will go. Tobi is a good boy!"

Hana continued to stare at the doorway for a while, even after the masked man had disappeared.

"Tobi is a good boy?" She repeated, "Is he really part of Akatsuki?"

"Not yet. He hasn't got a ring," Deidara explained as Kisame left the room. There was silence then as Hana waited nervously, eyes on the door.

Deidara watched her, wondering what she was thinking. Deciding to break the silence and pass the time a little he asked, "So where did you and Amaya-san disappear to for a year?"

She glanced at him, but her eyes moved back to the door as she spoke, "Amaya-chan had it all planned out. We found a small village, surrounded by woods, in the middle of nowhere. They had hardly any contact with ninja and were pretty much shut off from the rest of the world. They grew their own food, had their own schools...It was the perfect place to hide. Then, of course, it was a lovely sunny day so we went to the edge of the village. There's a big Sakura tree there, it was so beautiful in the summer; we'd never seen anything like it." A smile crossed her face and Deidara got the impression that she had forgotten she was talking to him, absorbed in the memory.

Her smile soon faded as she continued, "We were sat beneath it, but I've never really liked sitting around doing nothing. I used to love the adventure, the chase and then winning, knowing that we'd beaten another bad guy and I guess I missed it. I just wanted to leave the village for a while, so I dragged her with me, and before we knew it, we were lost. I've always had a fairly good sense of direction but we'd wandered so far, and then before I knew it we were kidnapped. As soon as I realized it was Akatsuki I could see it all crumbling. She'd wiped her own memories because she couldn't sleep, couldn't stop the same bad experiances resurfacing in her dreams, every night, and then I, the one who she's always trusted, _I _was the one who destroyed it all. I tried to pretend that we were just two normal girls, but after we got into trouble it was obvious that _I _moved too well for just some normal girl -"

Guilt was plainly evident on her face and tears had started to trail down her cheeks. Not quite sure what to do Deidara got to his feet, trying to think of something that he could say that might stop her crying; despite his smiling, playful nature he had never been good with girls, especially crying ones.

"- but they already knew, see, 'cause the Henge had disappeared when I got knocked out. Not Amaya-chan's though, somehow she made it stick, so that she didn't have to think about it, so that she wouldn't be found, but then that disappeared too. Now – now she's – she's going to d-d-die, because of m-me and I-I...there's nothing that I can do, nothing, n-nothing at all."

She sank to the floor, burying her face in her hands, letting go of her usually cheerful façade that she'd maintained for so long, simply so that her friend would have one less thing to worry about.

"There might be something." Deidara said after a short while, crouching down in front of her. She looked up at him, hope shining in her soft brown eyes.

"What-what is it? There's a way to save her?"

He nodded, and began to explain as she listened avidly.

* * *

Tobi's head popped out of the sand and he glanced around, pulling himself completely to the surface when he spotted Itachi and Amaya lying nearby. He walked over slowly, slightly cautious of the Uchiha. 

Neither of the figures moved as he neared. Even when he was stood right beside them there was no movement apart from the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of their chests. He noticed that, strangely, they were breathing in time with one another.

"Uchiha-san?" He asked quietly, but there was no reaction. He had never seen Itachi looking so relaxed and off guard, and the young girl with her head resting on his chest looking just as calm and comfortable. It seemed a little bit of a shame to move them but being the good boy he was he decided that following orders was best.

He wondered for a moment just how, exactly, he would get both of them back to the base on his own. Shrugging to himself he gently moved Amaya off of Itachi's unconscious form and very carefully positioned the Uchiha on his shoulder. Comforted slightly by the fact that Itachi remained unconscious he hung Amaya over his other shoulder.

Murmuring, _'Tobi is a good boy!'_ happily to himself he began to head back to the base.

* * *

...Long, but hopefully not too boring...And an answer to mystery of the voice in Amaya's head (I'll clear this up completely in the next few chapters)...Next chapter: Will Amaya forgive Itachi before she reaches her fate? What is it that Hana-chan is planning? And Itachi's true feelings?! Ahh, that one should be easier to write...Until next time! 


	21. Chapter 21

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto_

...This was another one of those chapters that I really enjoyed writing... I decided that I needed to lighten the mood a little seeing as the last few chapters were all fighting... Hope you all have as much fun reading this as I had writing it.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

Amaya was in her favorite spot – on the roof, staring at the moon, hanging in the sky, casting its soft, enchanting light over everything below it. The air was cool and everything was silent apart from the occasional sounds of laughing or shouting from below her, usually made by Kisame and Hana-chan.

_Probably fighting again,_ Amaya thought, a small, fleeting smile crossing her face. _Fighting, but it's different to the way _we _fight. _She sighed and closed her eyes. When she'd woken up hours ago she'd already been healed, by Hana she suspected, and had gone up to the roof and been there ever since. No matter what she thought about she always seemed to come back round to Itachi.

She had tried to work out how she felt about him. It was a long time ago when he'd used the Mangekyou on her, but she still remembered it as though it had just happened. She could not deny it though. There was definitely something, something other than hate and pain. All the times he'd saved her life: was it for the mission, because they needed her alive? Or did he _choose_ to save her, for a reason of his own?

As she sat, she wondered if he was undergoing a similar internal struggle over her. Had he abandoned all feelings for her? He could have let her escape and yet, she was here with her days numbered, when he could save her. Did he care?

Each time she asked herself the same questions she came back to the same point, those same two words that he had spoken to her, truthfully and sincerely she was sure, as he never lied.

'_I'm sorry.'_

But was he really? Did he really feel sorry, regretful for what he had done to her? Was he capable of such feelings? He, the infamous Uchiha Itachi who had murdered his whole clan – was it possible that he felt guilty for hurting her?

She sat up straight as a new line of thought presented itself to her._ He killed his clan because of me, because they hurt me. But then he went and hurt me himself. He was exactly the same as all of them. That's it, that's why he was sorry for it, because he'd become one of the people he hated. Does he feel that he's no better than they were?_

'_I'm sorry.'_

Even though she understood a little now, or at least thought she did, she still hadn't spoken to him, or even seen him since they both fell unconscious. She'd woken in a separate room from him, thankfully. If she bumped into him she had no idea what to do or say.

Light footsteps on the roof behind her alerted her to Hana's presence. "How are you feeling?" She asked, plopping herself down on the slanted roof, making a guilty face as a loose tile became dislodged, scraped the rest of the way to the edge and made a dull thud as it hit the sand below.

Amaya glanced at her friend, "Fine. Thank you."

Hana knew she meant 'Thank you for healing me.' "It was nothing. Why are you up here, alone?"

"I was thinking…"

"…about Itachi-san?" Hana asked as her friend trailed off quietly. Amaya nodded in reply.

"I think that I…that I…," she was really just trying to admit it to herself and took a deep breath, "Even after everything, I think that somehow I-I love him, Hana-chan."

Smiling, Hana patted her on the back, "Doesn't it feel better to just say it? I think I'm the wrong person though."

Looking startled, Amaya turned to her friend, "What do you mean?"

"Well, really, don't you think you should let _him_ know how you feel? To be honest, I think he might be feeling the same as you. He was up hours before you, but he's barely left his room and seems a little out of it."

"But how am I supposed to say it?"

"The way you do it best!" Hana replied simply, getting to her feet. "By the way, I'm going out, early tomorrow morning. There are a few things I want to do before…you know…Anyway, I should be back on time, so don't worry about me being gone."

Amaya nodded, not thinking to ask what it was that her friend was going to do, and turned her attention back to the moon as she was left alone again.

* * *

Hana returned to the kitchen where Deidara and Sasori were sat at the table having their usual debate over true art, Tobi sat beside them listening closely, his head turning from one to the other as they spoke, as though he was watching a tennis match. 

Kisame was sat, busying himself with a bottle of sake, not really interested in the conversation, another Akatsuki member - who Hana had discovered had a foul mouth and was called Hidan - sitting beside him, also with a bottle in front of him.

Across from them were Itachi, silent as usual and looking as though he was trying to stare a hole right through the table, caught up inside his own thoughts; next to him was a man who Hana had been sure had his mouth stitched shut until he had spoken to tell her his name was Kakuzu. In one corner the 'plant' was…well, Hana wasn't sure if he was sitting or standing, but he was just there, with his eyes closed, paying no attention to his surroundings.

Kisame and Hidan were getting gradually louder and louder as they became drunker and drunker, until the latter fell off his chair, unable to hold his alcohol as well as his drinking partner. Laughing loudly the shark-man was pointing stupidly at the man on the floor, who was cursing and trying to struggle to his feet but was having difficulty as he was caught up in his cloak. Finally giving up he held out his hand, "Ah, shuddup, stupid shark. Gimme 'nother bottle."

Standing, Kakuzu moved round the table to his partner, pulling him to his feet before he could grab hold of the sake bottle Kisame was dangling above him, just out of reach. "We have a mission tomorrow," was all Kakuzu said, and shepherded the protesting Hidan out of the room, leaving Kisame drinking alone, but still chuckling as he pulled all the remaining sake bottles towards himself.

Suddenly they all fell silent, even Kisame. Itachi was sitting up straight, drawn out of his thoughts. Zetsu had opened his eyes. Sasori and Deidara glanced at each other, and then at Hana who was watching Itachi. Tobi looked around at them all before getting to his feet and beginning to move to the door.

_Wakariaenakute nando mo kizutsuketeita  
__(We didn't understand each other and hurt each other over and over again)_

Itachi got to his feet at the same time as Tobi did, and Hana quickly rugby tackled Tobi to the ground, giving Itachi a meaningful look that said, 'I'll keep them here.'

Slowly, step by step he moved outside. He knew that soft voice so well, floating through the now silent air, as clear and beautiful as he remembered, singing the same song as when they'd met.

_Sonna toki demo itsumo yasashikute  
__(Even at those times you were always kind)_

Following her voice he moved silently to the roof, drawn to her. She was stood with her back to him, looking out across the sand.

T_oozakaru omoide wa itsumademo mabushisugite  
__(The fading memories are too brilliant as always)  
motto soba ni itakatta  
__(I wanted to be closer by)  
mou nido to aenai kedo itsumo soba de sasaetekureta  
__(We can't meet again but you were always close to hold me up)  
anata dake wa kawaranai de ite  
__(Just you, don't change yourself)_

He remembered standing, captured by her voice when they had first met. He had been completely distracted from his mission by that sweet, melodic sound. Even now he could not tear himself away.

Noticing he was there she turned suddenly, going quiet, staring at him.

* * *

"Are you really just going to sit here?" Kisame asked Hana, who was now sitting on a nervous, unsure-what-to-do Tobi, watching the door. 

She turned to him, a daring smile creeping onto her face, one which he mirrored. Again Sasori and Deidara shared a glance before shrugging slightly. The four of them were on their feet in an instant. After a moment Tobi sat up, scratched his head and scrambled after them. Zetsu closed his eyes again, uninterested.

* * *

Swallowing, her eyes fixed to Itachi, Amaya found her voice and began to sing again, with all her heart, her feelings, trying to convey to him how she felt and hoping, hoping that he felt the same. 

_Mou ichido tsuyoku dakishimete...  
__(Please hold me tight just once more...)_

The last delicate note rang out. Amaya watched him. He said nothing. He didn't move. She closed her eyes and hung her head. Had she been expecting too much?

She jumped at Itachi's light footsteps across the roof but she could not bring herself to look at him. Opening her eyes she found herself staring at his chest. One arm slipped around her back, pulling her against him. His other hand caught her chin, lifting her head.

His dark eyes were even more mysterious in the moonlight, while hers shone, her pale skin seeming to glow with the silvery moonlight. Her dark hair cascaded down her back like silk and he resisted the urge to run his hands through it. She raised a hand and gently brushed a stray strand of his own hair out of his eyes.

They stood, looking into each others eyes for a few seconds before both turning their heads and fixing their gazes upon the spot where four watching shadows had just ducked out of sight on the other side of the roof, where the two slanted sides met.

Hana was trying to stop herself from laughing at the way Itachi and Amaya had turned at exactly the same time - they were just like each other. Her laughter faded as she realised that only four out of five shadows had ducked: the shadow known as Tobi had not.

"_What are you doing_?!" She hissed, grabbing him and pulling him down. He let out a startled sound as he lost his grip and began to slide down the slanted side of the roof.

Flailing, he caught onto Hana, pulling her with him. Trying to grab on she reached for the closest thing to her, which happened to be Kisame. The shark-man was half way down the roof before he seemed to realize what was happening. Deidara had, by now, noticed that they were all falling and caught Kisame's hand, trying to hold on with chakra, but with three people's weight pulling him down he had no hope. As he also began to slip he tried to latch onto something. The something turned out to be Sasori's foot. With a sigh, not wishing to have his foot pulled off and knowing there was no point in holding on, the puppet-master let go.

As they fell Tobi was shouting to whoever would listen, 'Tobi is a good boy!', while Hana was screaming at him, 'Let the hell go of me!' Kisame was loudly singing, 'Ooo, I'm a flying fish!' and laughing insanely, and Deidara was trying to rapidly make a bird out of clay as he muttered, 'Flying fish? I should try it sometime.' Sasori rolled his eyes, but remained silent.

They landed in a tangled pile. Tobi was flat on his back, muttering apologies and assuring them that he really was a good boy. Hana had landed on top of him, on her back, with Kisame on top of her, facing downwards. Luckily he had managed to stop himself from squashing her completely, an arm on either side of her, holding him up, their faces an inch from each other. That is, until Deidara landed on top of him with a loud 'Un!' earning a grunt from Kisame as his arms gave out. His whole weight was now on top of Hana, who let out a startled cry, but not from the sudden addition of weight. She and Kisame stared wide eyed at each other, their lips pressed together. A strangled moan could just about be heard from Tobi, muffled from behind his mask, as he was squashed even further.

Deidara rolled off Kisame and blinked, looking up Sasori who had been the only one to land perfectly on his feet, in true ninja style.

"Nice landing, Sasori-danna, un." He turned his attention to the other three.

"Get off me, you-you-you giant lump of sushi!" Hana shouted from beneath Kisame, using chakra to throw him from her. Her face was bright red. She rounded on Tobi. "You _baka_!!!"

Shuffling away from her and getting to his feet quickly Tobi held up his hands in defence, "Tobi is a good boy, Tobi didn't mean to! Don't hurt Tobi! Ahh!!"

Hana launched herself at him like a wild animal, "Come back here!" She shouted as he began to run. Dashing after him she ignored his continued pleas not to hurt him.

Kisame was still sitting where he had landed when she had thrown him off. He had a thoughtful look on his face and his fingers brushed his lips before a drunken grin slid onto his face and he laid back in the sand, roaring with laughter, though he wasn't completely sure why.

Deidara began laughing too, and Sasori chuckled quietly. Soon Hana too was trying to catch her breath between her giggles and calling to Tobi that it was okay, but he was still running out across the sand -

"TOBI IS A GOOD BOYYY!!!"

- causing her to double over with laughter.

The laughter was infectious, and Amaya could not help but join in; and Itachi could not stop himself from gazing at her face as she did so. Her dark hair, pale skin, bright eyes, all made so much more beautiful by the enchanting smile which graced her lips, accompanied by the warm sound of her laughter.

Feeling his eyes on her, she turned her attention back to him. Slowly he leant down to her. Slightly on tip-toes she stretched up to him. His hand cupped her chin, pulling her gently closer. Looking into his eyes Amaya found that it was so easy to get lost in them. Before she did, however, she noticed that her own feelings were reflected back at her. They both smiled as their lips met and pulled one another closer, holding each other tightly.

Amaya's eyes closed.

She wished that moment would last forever.

* * *

...Well, you've just gotta love Tobi, eh? That was my attempt at humour / comedy... I think I murdered the 'Tobi is a good boy' joke, but I guess I'm better at writing the serious stuff... 

The song was 'Last Song' by Gackt (his voice is amazing; if you've never heard him, you really should). I cut it quite short, because last time I did a song it was too long, so I hope that it's okay this time...The bits in brackets are the translation, obviously...(And yes, the last line of the song is what Amaya shouted as she was falling from Deidara's bird in chapter 7...)

I realised as I was writing this that there're probably only going to be about two or three more chapters after this...I'll try and make them as good as I can though - as Deidara would say, might as well go out with a bang!

Thanks for reading! Ja ne!


	22. Chapter 22

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto..._

Ta for the reviews!

Just a note, Hana's plan to save Amaya is slightly spoilerish of the current arc in the anime with Garra and all that, but only by a couple of episodes (...maybe more...we all know how the anime folks like to drag things out...), but don't let that stop you reading, haha...

* * *

**Chapter 22  
**  
For Amaya the next three days went by far too fast, and with much less company than she would have liked. 

After that night she had thought that Itachi would be more open with her, but he seemed to be the opposite. It wasn't that he ignored her completely - often she caught his eyes lingering on her and watching her as she moved - just that he treated her the same way as he treated everyone else. She wondered if he was distancing himself because he knew there was no point in getting close.

It was cold, hard fact and it was like a kunai being held to her throat, waiting for the wielder to make their move. She was going to die. Strangely she was calm about it, though. Being the Rokubi jinchuuriki had always come with the unlikely chance of her meeting a natural end. Her brief respite from having that fact hanging over her head for the last year had been enjoyable, but it was unavoidable.

She felt lonely with Hana around, but knew that her friend would come back and she would see her again. They had known each other most of their lives and it wasn't long before Amaya had worked out that Hana was planning to save her. She wondered if she ought to stop her, but decided that she would trust her to find a way.

It was on the third night, when she was in her room, that Itachi, Kisame, Deidara and Sasori were sat around the kitchen table. They all knew of Hana's plan as they had been there when she left, and Deidara had just mumbled, "Do you think it'll work, un?"

Not really wanting to think about it, Itachi got to his feet and was about to leave when Kisame spoke what may have been the most influential and sensible words he had ever uttered, despite the fact that he was half drunk again.

"Maybe you should believe in Midget as much as Amaya does."

Itachi paused. He knew how close Amaya and Hana were and how much they trusted each other. Never had he trusted someone with his life, yet they both did it all the time. If he let himself go to Amaya, could he really trust that hot-headed, loud girl who had a habit of making mistakes? Could he really believe in her?

"_Three days to get to Konoha, and then three days to get the information, learn how it works, and to the cave. I _will_ make it in time. Please, don't tell Amaya-chan though, she'd chase after me and tell me not to do it, especially if she knew how it could turn out. Well, I'm off then. I will definitely save her! Yosh!!"_

She'd had such determination in her eyes. Would that be enough, though?

His feet seemed to have a mind of their own, leading him out of the kitchen and up the stairs to where he now stood, outside of the room that Amaya was sleeping in. Or should have been sleeping in, but he could sense that she was still awake.

He heard movement and knew that she had sensed him too. As he stood there he tried to imagine how she must be feeling, for it was tomorrow, after all; the end of everything.

For him it was hard to imagine how it would feel to know he was going to die the next day. He supposed she must be feeling sad, lonely, depressed, but they weren't feelings he could relate to. It was then that he turned his thoughts not to how she felt, but to how _he_ felt; how _he_ would feel if Hana's plan failed.

His hand clenched into a fist as he thought about how much Amaya really meant to him. She was the only person that he would open up to, even if only a little. She was the only person who would dare to get so close to him. Her smile always made him want to smile back, even though his smiles were so rare. She'd even made him laugh - there weren't many people who had done that. In short, she was…special.

_She's special…to me._

Perhaps, just this once, it would be okay if he put his trust in someone else.

With that thought he pushed open the door without knocking. She sat up from the bed, surprised, watching him with narrow blue eyes. She watched him as he closed the door and moved towards her, a somewhat almost determined look in his eyes that Amaya couldn't recall seeing before.

He leant down to her and with one hand pressed her down against the bed, an arm either side of her. The Sharingan drilled into her and she wondered if he'd come just to stare.

"Is there something you wanted?" She asked, her tone slightly clipped and with a hint of anger. He near enough ignored her for three days and then just stood there, not even turning the Sharingan off.

"I know you hate the Sharingan, but with these eyes I can see everything," lifting a hand he brushed his fingers against her cheek, "every little detail. I want to remember you, exactly as you are."

He leaned forwards, pressing his lips to hers softly.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked, caught off guard by his sudden show of affection.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, no, i-it's just you…all of a sudden…w-what brought this on?" She stuttered.

"Nothing," he replied quietly.

She stared at him hard, "A-are you sure? You're acting just a little…un-Itachi-ish…"

A hint of a smile formed on his lips as he kissed her again. "Aa..."

* * *

The next morning there was a light knock on the door as Deidara pushed it open, stepping into the room. 

"Amaya-san, I'm afraid you need to…get up…Un…" He blinked a few times at Itachi lying on the bed, Amaya still asleep beside him. Dark eyes met his blue gaze. Taking a step back, Deidara closed the door behind him without another word, but smiled silently to himself.

_I guess they can have a little longer…_

What Deidara _didn't _see (which was probably for the best) was that the pair would not need to undress before climbing into the shower - an act that would be accompanied by much blushing from Amaya and smirking from Itachi.

* * *

Hana smiled as the front gates of Konoha appeared before her. Bounding through them she headed straight for the Hokage's office, almost running into Shizune on the way. 

"Hana-san? What are you doing here?"

"I need to speak to Tsunada-sama! It's urgent!"

Nodding, Shizune led her up to the office. Pushing open the door she didn't even have a chance to speak as Hana dashed past her.

"Hokage-sama, I need your help, please."

"Hana-san, what are you doing here?! Last time I helped you, I sent out a team and they got sent back without doing anything at all!"

"They got Sasuke-san back…But more to the point, it's not a team I want this time."

"Then what is it?"

"A medical jutsu," she stated simply.

"A medical jutsu?" Tsunade repeated. Clearly that was not what she had been expecting.

Hana nodded, "Amaya-chan is the Rokubi jinchuuriki. Over the next three days they're going to be extracting the bijuu. Deidara-san told me that somehow the Ichibi jinchuuriki was brought back to life. I want to know how."

Tsunade was silent for a moment, "It's true that Gaara survived but Chiyo gave her life for him, and even then she needed some of Naruto's chakra."

"But she was an old lady, wasn't she? I'm not! I'm young, full of life, youthful, and she'd a big fight beforehand! There has to be a way! Besides, even if it kills me, I'll do it…for Amaya-chan."

The blonde's eyebrows raised at the determination that shone in Hana's brown eyes – how could she stay angry at someone like that?

"You know, in many ways you're very like Naruto, especially with that determination. If you start talking about youthfulness you'll get forced into green spandex though, so you might want to avoid that." That brought a very confused look to Hana's face, but she forgot about it as Tsunade carried on.

"Fine, I'll help you." Getting to her feet she called for her assistant, "Shizune!"

"Hai!"

"Take care of things here, I'm going out for a bit," and with that she swept out of the room, Hana following eagerly in her wake.

* * *

Amaya combed her damp hair slowly before tying it back with her ribbon. She turned to Itachi who was waiting for her. She nodded. He slipped on his cloak and they shared one last kiss before leaving the room. 

The others were waiting downstairs in silence. Apparently it was unusual for so many of them to be conducting the jutsu while actually being there physically, but as many of the biijuu had already been caught most of them now had a lot of free time on their hands.

Together they left the building in silence, heading to a cave within River country. With the aid of Deidara's birds they would be there by midday.

As they flew Amaya smiled at the clear blue sky around her, a gentle breeze fluttering across her skin, the landscape flowing by swiftly below them. It was a beautiful day.

_A beautiful day to die, _she thought sadly, _it's just like the day we met._

Midday seemed to come much sooner than it should have. Jumping off the bird Amaya looked up at the large entrance. As they stepped inside she could just about make out a giant pair of hands reaching out of the ground. There was another part to the large structure, but she couldn't quite see what it was.

On some of the fingertips figures were already stood, waiting. Deidara, Kisame and Sasori moved to their places. Itachi gently pushed her forwards to stand in the space where they all looked down at her, before moving to his own place.

"Now that we're all here, let's get start-" a voice began, echoing around the cave, but Amaya cut in, hardly worrying about being killed for it.

"Ah, um, I'd like to make a last request, if I may? Well, two actually…?" She wasn't quite sure which one had been speaking so stared at the ground waiting for an answer.

"Very well," the man replied at last.

Amaya looked up at Kisame, standing high above her. "If Hana-chan tries something that's going to end up with her dead…stop her…please…" He nodded.

She then turned her gaze to Itachi, his red eyes glowing in the darkness surrounding them, "I-I expect this is going to hurt, so would you mind…knocking me out first?"

He jumped down in front of her, not even waiting for the Leader to give any kind of permission, "Amaya…Are you sure these eyes are the last thing you want to see?"

She smiled and placed a soft hand against his cheek, "Don't worry, Itachi. They won't be."

After a moment he nodded. As she looked into his eyes and began to lose consciousness she whispered one last thing to him, for his ears alone, "_Mou ichido tsuyoku dakishimete._" It was their equivalent of 'I love you', with so much meaning beyond the words themselves.

Itachi wondered if the first words he had ever heard her speak would also be the last.

* * *

The next chapter will be the last one, then... After that I might do a 'follow up' kind of chapter, but we'll see... I might just stick it all in as one... 

Feel free to leave me a review...


	23. Chapter 23

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto_

Umm, Hi! I realise it has been a really really **really** long time since I last posted a chapter, but a few more recent reviews made me kick my lazy butt into gear and write another chapter. I've been meaning to do it forever, but there were a few things about the story that I really wasn't happy with (but that'll teach me to make a plan if I ever decide to write something again), but this is how the last chapter finally came out. It's much shorter than I'd like, considering how long everyone has waited, but I hope it's okay.

Oh and I realise that people have probably forgotten about the story (haha, even I had to read over it all again to remember how to write the characters properly) and I don't expect any reviews (I don't deserve them) but I hope this ties up the story suitably enough for all the wonderful people who read and reviewed in the past.

Thanks everyone!

* * *

**Chapter 23**** (at long last…)**

In Amaya's mind that same song played softly, flowing around her in the pure white expanse surrounding her. She gazed around calmly.

_Where am I? _Her thoughts seemed to echo slightly, as though she were stood in a large, empty room. _Am I dead?_

Something appeared, a dark blur against the white. It came into focus slowly and Amaya smiled, "Hana-chan! You're here. Did you find out how to save me? Where are we?" But there was no reply. Her friend simply smiled at her and pointed behind her. Turning, though not aware of moving her feet, Amaya's smile widened. "Itachi." But he, too, said nothing.

"What's going on?" Amaya's asked, looking from one to the other. Her smiled disappeared as Hana's figure started to fade. She tried to jump forwards, reaching out to her friend, "Wait!" but she was gone. Amaya turned, reaching out to Itachi, trying to run towards him, but she didn't seem to get any closer, and soon he was gone too.

Suddenly she felt scared and alone, and the music had stopped.

_Why? _

_What's happening?_

_Why do I suddenly…feel so tired?_

* * *

Finally the jutsu ended. As soon as it was over and Amaya began to fall towards the ground, no longer suspended in midair by the chakra, Itachi jumped from his position and caught her. No one said anything, except Kisame who mumbled quietly to himself, "I wonder if Midget is here yet?" 

Itachi, Kisame, Deidara and Sasori found them selves alone in the cave and waited by the large entrance. The weather matched the heavy mood that hung around Itachi. Dark clouds hung above them, rain lashed down heavily and lightning cracked the sky, illuminating everything in eyrie blue light for a few seconds, before the grey returned.

"You're done?!" A call came from above them. Jumping down to the river, Hana moved inside the large cave quickly. Her usual cheerful smile was replaced by a grim determination.

"Firstly, some light would help. Itachi-san, if you please," she said. A quick fire jutsu soon had a large flame throwing long, dancing shadows against the walls.

"I don't know if this will definitely work for sure and no one really knows how to use the jutsu, but I think I might be able to make it work. I'll need help from all of you, though, if you don't mind?" Itachi would help, of course, and Kisame wouldn't dare to say no under the dangerous stares of his partner and the young girl. Deidara smiled, "Of course, un," and Sasori nodded.

Hana rummaged in her pocket and handed them each a small pill. "Soldier pills - you've all been doing a jutsu for three days straight," she explained, and then added, "even you need one Sharky. Take it." Kisame saw the dangerous look in her eye and did as he was told.

"Now, you all need to be touching me somehow." Kisame sniggered. "Not like that, _Kisame_. This isn't the time for perverted thoughts," she snapped. The use of his name showed just how on edge she was and silenced him immediately. "Itachi-san, if you sit opposite and put your hands on top of mine, Kisame, Sasori-san, if you can each put a hand on my shoulder, and uh…Deidara…Um…"

_Ah, I've run out of body parts!? _She thought stupidly, starting to feel nervous and a little frantic.

"How's this?" He asked, with a small, warm smile, placing a hand lightly on top of her head. She almost blushed but stopped herself before she did so: _this is not the time, or the place._

Satisfied that everyone was ready, Hana took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then she began.

* * *

At first it was difficult, drawing chakra from four people at the same time, but she soon got the hang of it. There was more to the jutsu than simply needing chakra, though, and she was sure they all knew it. But they had agreed, and for that she was grateful. 

Hana wasn't quite sure how to go about transferring her life energy, as well as chakra, into her friend. She'd never heard anything like it, but that wouldn't stop her from trying her best.

She focused hard and continued the large flow of chakra, but it seemed to be having no effect. _How do I do this? How can I give her my life? Why can't I do this? I promised! I promised!_

Anger at herself, disappointment and desperation rose up inside of her. Tears pricked at her closed eyes and trickled down her cheeks. And then something changed.

Her eyes flicked open in surprise and she barely managed to hold on to the unusual feeling. _I… I've done it._ It was then that she met her next hurdle. _How do I get them to do the same?_ To her relief, she didn't have to worry for long. Clearly they had all sensed something change, and Itachi was the first to copy her. Once she knew how it felt for him she was able to draw the same sort of energy from the others. They all stirred slightly, but none of them moved or said a word.

Hana allowed herself to feel a little hopeful. _This can work. It can work, Amaya-chan. It _will _work! _

_

* * *

_Amaya's eyes began to close slowly, but a strange sensation made her open them again. It was like a tug from a rope tied around her chest, pulling at her. Pulling and pulling, but it felt as though it was tightening too. It hurt and she couldn't breathe. 

_Wait, _she thought,_ was I breathing? Have I been breathing all the time that I've been in this place?_ _If I was dead, I wouldn't need to breathe…_

She hadn't even realised, but now that she wanted to breathe, she couldn't, and the pulling continued, until she experienced another strange feeling. It was like breaking the surface of water when you've been struggling to swim upwards for ages.

The first thing that returned to her was her delicate hearing. Heavy breathing and the beginning of sobs reached her first. _Hana-chan! I knew you could do it!_ Then there were voices.

"Let go of me! Let go, it's not done yet!"

"Hana, she asked me to stop you before you killed yourself. That was her wish, and you should respect it." _Kisame? He's here too? Probably because of Itachi…_

"Kisame is right, Hana-san. There is nothing more you can do." _Sasori?_

"Sasori-danna is right, Hana-chan. You tried you're best, and I'm sure she knows it, wherever she is now." _Deidara, too! _

Amaya hadn't really been listening to what they were saying, too caught up in the fact that they had all been willing to help in order to save her, but Hana's next words reached her loud and clear.

"But it was going so well, I was sure we almost had her! Her heart was beating, if I could just carry on a little…If I could just get her to breathe, too…"

Shock hit Amaya like a brick and she suddenly gasped and sat bolt upright, _I'm still not breathing?!_ _How can that be? How can I be awake, and not be breathing?! This is terrible, what should I do? What do I…_

"Amaya," someone said softly. She turned her head to find Itachi right beside her.

"Oh, she's breathing now," Kisame said, standing to one side holding tightly onto Hana, with the help of Deidara, all three of them looking surprised.

"Huh?" Amaya asked, turning to look at him. She then realised how stupid she had just been. "Oh…I…I could hear…and then the shock…I didn't even realise I wasn't…" She paused for a moment and then threw her head back and laughed, the light sound resounding around the cave and bouncing off the walls.

Hana broke away from the two men holding her and threw her arms around Amaya's neck, the sounds of her crying mixing with the sounds of laughter. "Amaya-chan! Amaya-chan! Amaya-chan!" She cried, "Amaya-chan!"

"It's okay, Hana-chan. You did it. You really did it." She smiled softly at her friend. "Thank you."

Hana sniffed and was silent for a moment before starting a new round of hearty sobbing, "Amaya-chan!!". Patting her back Amaya gently pulled her self free and got to her feet with a little help from Itachi.

"Sasori-san," she said, moving to him first and then leaned forwards, planting a kiss lightly on his cheek, "thank you." He blinked but then gave her a small smiled and nodded. She did the same to Deidara, who blushed, and then laughed at Kisame who was looking hopeful, "No chance. But thank you, too."

She then turned to Itachi who was still stood silently waiting, his dark eyes fixed on her smiling face.

Amaya moved to him. "And thank you, Itachi." They simply looked at one another for a moment and then suddenly they were holding each other tightly.

_Aah, _Amaya thought, _being alive is worth it… for just this moment._

_Mou ichido tsuyoku dakishimete...  
Please hold me tight just once more..._

* * *

Thanks again everyone! 


	24. Chapter 24

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto_

Here you are everyone - The final chapter / epilogue. I hope this finishes off the story okay. I tried to make the mood light and happy and stick in a bit of humour - but that isn't really my strong point, so let me know how it turned out.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

Itachi paused as he heard fast footsteps coming down the stairs before Amaya appeared round the corner, nearly bumping into him. She smiled when she saw him, "Good morning!" she said as she passed and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before running to the front door. He didn't need to ask why, as a moment later it opened and a loud "Amaya-chan!" could be heard through the whole building.

"Hana-chan, it's so good to see you again!" Amaya cried, embracing her friend, "How's everything in Konoha?"

"It's great. Helping out in the hospital and working at the academy is so much fun – I get my own team soon, going out on missions, bravely protecting them, having them look up to me and respect me, ahh, it'll be great!"

"Somehow I don't think it'll be quite like that…" Amaya laughed, "Anyway, come on, I have something I want to talk to you about."

She led her friend out to the back of the house, where they sat and looked out over the large, green space where Itachi and the other Akatsuki members trained sometimes. Today there was only Deidara who was just finishing.

"Morning," he said to Amaya, and then a little shyly, "Hey, Hana-chan, un," and then he went inside quickly.

Amaya's gaze followed him before coming back to her friend, a spark of suspicion in her eye. "I'm gonna go ahead and guess I'm not the only one you've been writing to, huh?"

"Yeah, well, so what?" Hana blushed, "If it wasn't for his help you wouldn't be here…anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk about? It wouldn't happen to be about that pretty ring on your finger, now would it?"

"Yeah, that was one of the things-."

"So he proposed?" Hana cut in. Amaya nodded. "Really, did he go down on one knee, or did he prepare a candle lit dinner with soft music in the background? Was it romantic?"

"Itachi…doesn't really do romance very well…"

_Amaya sighed as she wandered through the __building, _he's been avoiding me for days, _she thought, _what did I do? _At that moment she spotted him at the other end of the corridor. "Ah!" she dashed after him only to find that he was already gone, "Dammit."_

"_What do you want?"__ He asked suddenly from behind her._

"_Itachi! Don't do that! It's nothing, I just…" She looked up at him and noticed that he was avoiding her eyes, "Why won't you look at me? Did I do something wrong?"_

_Slowly he lowered his dark eyes to meet__ hers, "You haven't done anything wrong. I just don't know…" He paused," I just don't know how to ask you to marry me."_

_Amaya looked at him, her blue eyes as wide as they would go, before she laughed. "Is that how you propose? It wasn't even a question!" She was a little surprised and couldn't quite seem to believe what he had just said._

"_I know, like I said, I don't know how to ask."_

"_Bwaha, that's silly. You just say it!"_

"_Then, will you marry me?"_

"_Yes, like that!"_

"_You said 'yes'."_

"_Huh, I did? No, wait, I meant..."_

_He grinned, taking hold of her hand and gently slipping on a golden engagement ring, "Yes, you did," he murmured._

"And that's how it happened."

"He's so sneaky, even when he's proposing – but you probably would have said yes anyway, so I don't suppose it matters. If anyone ever proposed to me it'd have to be really romantic or I'd definitely say no. Anyway, there was something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah, you see…"

* * *

Itachi was walking past the slightly opened sliding doors when he heard Hana ask, "Amaya-chan, have you had any odd cravings lately?" 

"Hmm, odd cravings, I don't think so."

"That depends what you count as 'odd'," Itachi said, sliding the door open a bit further and leaning against the frame, a small smile on his lips.

"What do you mean?" Hana asked.

"I haven't had any odd cravings," his fiancé defended, looking up at him, knowing that slightly mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Like I said, that depends on what you count as odd. Last night I woke up around two in the morning and you weren't there so I went to look for you. I found you creeping into Kisame's room murmuring 'Sushi, shark sushi, oiishi'."

"I don't remember that!" Amaya jumped to her feet, her face burning.

Itachi shrugged, "Kisame does."

"Oh…that's why he was so weird this morning…"

"Haha, poor Sharky. Well, I have one word for you two. Congratulations!" Hana clapped her hands together and laughed - and then paused as they both looked at her questioningly. "You're going to have a baby!" She explained excitedly.

"Huh, you mean I'm…" Amaya started.

Hana nodded, "Yup!"

Amaya and Itachi looked at each other. They smiled at the same time and Amaya threw her arms around his neck, "We're going to have a baby!"

* * *

It was a month later that the wedding took place. Amaya stood nervously, fiddling with snow white dress, checking that sparkling flowers in her hair were in the right place, and glancing at herself in the mirror. The dress was silk, and clung to her figure down to her waist and then outwards until it brushed the ground, just hiding the matching white shoes she had on her small feet. 

There was a knock on the door and Hana entered. She gasped, "Amaya-chan," there were tears in her eyes, "You look like…like an angel!"

"Hana-chan, thank you."

There was another knock on the door, "Amaya, everyone is ready," Deidara said. He blinked at her, "You look…nice."

She smiled, "Thanks." She took a deep breath, "Here we go."

The wedding was being held outside, as getting married to a murderer in a church with all his murderer friends attending didn't really seem appropriate. Thankfully it was a beautiful day, and birds flew overhead, singing their songs loudly as if joining in with the music.

Deidara took her arm and walked her down the aisle in the absence of any fatherly figure. Hana was her maid of honour and Kisame was Itachi's best man. Sasori was taking the place of the priest. She wondered if the marriage would be counted as legitimate like this, but they had come to the conclusion that he would be the best person to do it and least likely to mess it up. Not that Deidara would have been terrible at it, but he was stumbling down the aisle as though it was his own wedding.

_I wonder what he'll be like when it _is _his own wedding!_

There weren't many people there to make up the congregation, just a few people Hana had contacted that they used to know and a few of the other Akatsuki members that she had met, Hidan, Kakuzu and Tobi, who was sat in the front row. Up in the trees she sensed a few people, and glancing in their direction she saw Naruto and Sakura smiling down at her.

_Even they came, and I hardly know them…_

She wondered if Sasuke was around somewhere, watching, but she was halfway down the aisle before she knew it and all thoughts of who was watching were pushed from her mind.

Itachi stood waiting, watching her as she came closer. He was dressed up smartly, his hair neatly tied back, and his eyes were dark – she'd made him promise that he wouldn't use the sharingan for the whole day – but he almost looked nervous too, which made Amaya smile and relax a little.

They managed to say their lines without stuttering over them and finally Sasori declared them man and wife.

"Now kiss the bride!" Tobi shouted.

"That is only tradition and not strictly required," Sasori told him.

Itachi smiled, "Then let's follow tradition."

* * *

Roughly eight months after that, when the weather was starting to grow colder, Amaya found herself in a Konoha hospital bed, Hana by her side. 

Tsunade had agreed that she would allow Amaya to have her child in Konoha and, so long as they didn't cause any trouble, any Akatsuki members who wanted to be there, namely Itachi, were allowed.

As it happened, Deidara and Sasori were the only ones at the base when Amaya staggered out of her room.

"Amaya?" Deidara said, getting to his feet, "What's wrong?"

"I think it's time."

"It's time for what?"

"She's having her baby," Sasori answered and Amaya nodded.

"What do we do?" Deidara asked, suddenly panicking.

"Make a bird. I'll write a note to Itachi," Sasori replied calmly.

"Right, a bird, okay," and in an instant there was a large white bird, big enough for three to ride on…in the middle of the sitting room, along with a large hole in the roof and a whole load of crushed furniture. "Oh…"

"Worry about the damage when we get back. I've sent a message ahead to Hana-san, too."

"Thank you, Sasori. At least somebody can keep cool in this kind of situation," Amaya said as he helped her up onto the bird's back. Deidara blushed with embarrassment, but Amaya smiled at him to let him know she appreciated his help too.

A few hours later and there she was, in the hospital bed. Deidara and Sasori were sat in the waiting room down the hall that Tsunade had allowed them to use.

"I can't believe it's been three hours already. How long does this usually take?" Amaya asked.

"For your first child it can be pretty long," Tsunade answered, "you've got a while to wait yet." She gave some instructions to Hana and then left them alone.

"Itachi better get here in time."

"Amaya-chan, he was near Suna. That's three days away…I don't think you can be in labour for that long."

"Then he'll just have to get here extra quick, won't he?" Already she was getting snappy and feeling tired, and she wasn't even half way yet.

* * *

Three hours turned into five, and then to ten and then fifteen, but it was only when it was getting closer to the sixteenth hour that Hana called for Tsunade and everything started to happen rapidly. 

Nurses filled the room, bustling around her, and Amaya was squeezing Hana's hand so tightly the medic-nin wondered if she'd ever be able to use it again.

"Okay, you need to start pushing," Tsunade said.

"I know!" Amaya said back through gritted teeth. Hana felt her pain. Literally. "And where is Itachi?! Why isn't he here yet?!" She paused to catch her breath, "I'm going to kill him if he doesn't get here in time!"

"So will I," muttered Hana as she flinched again.

Suddenly the door flew open.

Sweat shone on his forehead and his dark hair stuck to his face. He was breathing fast and looked tired. But his dark eyes shone and he smiled, much to the surprise of many of the room's occupants.

"Made it," was all he said, ignoring the fact that every eye was on him, and moved to take hold of the hand Hana had let go of the instant he appeared.

"Itachi!" Amaya said, raising a hand to place against his cheek, relieved and happy to see him, but then she switched to anger and was in pain again, and he received his first experience of his wife's true strength.

"What took you so long?!" She asked when she could manage it.

"I was near Suna," he explained, stopping himself from grimacing as his hand was crushed.

"So?!"

"It's three days away. I made it in…"

"Under sixteen hours," Hana filled in.

"…including the time it took the message to reach me," he finished.

Amaya smiled lovingly as the pain momentarily subsided a little, "Only you could have done it."

* * *

Half an hour later Amaya beamed tiredly as a loud cry rang around the room. Deidara and Sasori, now joined by Kisame heard it and looked up at each other. 

"It's a boy," they heard Tsunade say loudly.

"Hah, a boy, Itachi-san will like that," Kisame laughed.

They couldn't hear anymore than that through the closed door, but they knew there was something else going on when they were left sitting in the room for another half hour.

"I wonder what's taking so long," Deidara murmured to no one in particular.

* * *

"A boy, our baby boy, can I hold him?" Amaya asked excitedly. 

"Not yet, you're not done."

"Not done? What do you mean? Ah!" She cried out, "Still…hurts…"

"You're having twins," Tsunade explained, "You didn't know?"

"T-twins?" Amaya looked at her friend, "Hana-chan?"

"Sorry," Hana shrugged, "I'm not really an expert in the baby department."

"Clearly!"

* * *

"A girl," Tsunade announced eventually, and passed the bundle of pink towel to Itachi as a nurse laid a blue bundle in Amaya's arms. 

The nurses left the room and Hana went to tell Deidara, Sasori and Kisame, leaving Itachi and Amaya with their two children alone.

"A girl and a boy…How perfect…" Amaya sighed, exhausted but happier than she had ever been. "Perfect."

She looked over to Itachi, holding his daughter in his arms. He had a look on his face she had never seen before. It was a soft, loving expression, as though he was gazing at something magical.

Both children had bright smiles, and midnight blue eyes, with small tufts of dark hair already on their heads.

"What shall we call them?" Amaya asked, letting her son clutch her finger in his small hand.

"Haruki," Itachi suggested, looking at the boy in his wife's arms.

Amaya nodded, "Radiant sunlight…Looking at his smile I'd say that fits. And…Akemi, bright and beautiful," she smiled.

"Haruki and Akemi," they said proudly together.

* * *

Two and half years later Amaya was sat with her daughter on her knee, watching Itachi teach his son a new jutsu. 

"Mama, Akemi doesn't gerrit…why's Haru-oniichan wanna learn juzzu? S'not fun," the little girl said.

"Why don't you ask him?" Amaya said, as her son came running towards her, a triumphant smile on his face.

"Mama, mama, I did it! Did it!" He almost tripped but Itachi caught him and sat down beside Amaya, seating Haruki on his lap.

"Really, you learnt _another_ new jutsu? You're so talented. I guess you get that from your father," Amaya said, smiling proudly.

"Haru-oniichan, Haru-oniichan," Akemi said, leaning towards her brother, her big eyes innocent and curious, "why'd you wanna learn so many juzzu for?"

"That's simple," the boy said knowingly, sitting up straight and pointing to himself as he spoke, "Haru-chan is your oniichan, so I's gotta be strong and protecter you!"

"Protecter me? From what?"

"Monsters 'n' bad peoples. That's what oniichans is for. Right, Mama?"

Amaya laughed, "That's right, ne, Itachi?"

Itachi gave her a dry look, but smiled, knowing she was only playing around, "Aa."

"Akemi have decided!" Akemi said suddenly, jumping off Amaya's lap, "I is gonna be strong too! Den we can protegger each chuva!"

Haruki leapt up too, "Yosh!" He said, his favourite word after he had heard 'auntie' Hana say it, "Come on, Emi-chan, oniichan will teacher you some cool juzzu," and he took his sister's hand.

Amaya watched them as they laughed and worked hard together. They both had dark hair; Haruki's was messy and sticking out in all directions, while Akemi's was long and sleek like her mother's, but in the bright light they looked like a mirror image of each other.

Looking sideways at Itachi, Amaya smiled again.

"You know, I was thinking about all that time ago, before we bumped into each other in the forest when Hana-chan and me were lost, back before that, there was only one word going through my mind: wasureru. To forget, everything, wipe my life clean and start again. But thinking back on it, I'm glad I bumped into you again, Itachi.

"This life, these children, you…

I don't ever want to forget this.

Ever."

* * *

And... they all lived happily ever after!

Well, I hope that was good enough... I couldn't really think of anything else to put, but I wanted to get everyone in there somehow. I think Itachi was really out of character here, but let's just say that being married and having children changed him, and made him happy and more laid back.

Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed, even though I took so long to update. Somehow my first fanfic turned out to be a sort of success - I really didn't think I'd get to Chapter 24 when I started, so thanks to you all.

-xxblackrose-


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